Revenge of the Fallen
by nightbeforedawn
Summary: As a friend and guild mate, nobody is ever loyal and friendly as Natsu Dragneel. But what if his own family, Fairy Tail, turns his back on him? Someone said a dragon is one of the most furious creatures but a bleeding dragon is close to invincible. When someone is thrown into darkness, they either perish or rise for revenge and unfortunately, it's second for Fairy Tail.
1. Chapter 0

**Hi guys! I am NBD and this is my first Fairy Tail fanfic. I was planning on doing a second Naruto fanfic, but decided that I need a break. So I decided to do a Fairy Tail fanfic which I was planning to do in summer break. I hope you like this story. This chapter will serve as a Prologue of the story.**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the opening chapter/ chapter 0 of the story. Enjoy!**

 **-XXXXX-**

 _ **Chapter 0: The Last Night of Humanity (Prologue)**_

Lucy opened her eyes as she suffered from a throbbing headache and burning stench. She slowly tried to wake up and sit but she fell down again. She figured out that she is covered with remains of a building. She desperately tried to come out of the rubble and succeeded after a few tries. She tried to stand up and move around but was again interrupted due to an injury on her ankle. Fortunately, there were no fractures. She limped and took support of a nearby wall to come out of what seemed like a lane.

She remembered that she is in an abandoned town nearby Clover town. Fairy Tale, Saber tooth, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and other major guilds in Fiore were in a war against one fallen mage and his monster army. The last memory she had was that they were in their hotel room discussing strategies against the enemy when Sting, Rogue and Lector rushed inside screaming that they are under attack.

Before they can come out of shock, the building began shaking and Guild Masters and other high level mages shouted everyone to vacate the buildings and run to attack. Lucy and others rushed outside avoiding the crumbling walls and roofs. Just when they were about to exit the building, she saw Levy losing her balance and slipping and the wall nearby was about to fall. Others were too ahead to reach to Levy so she rushed back ignoring Levy's protests to run outside and leaving her. Lucy made it in time and pulled Levy just when the wall finally crumbled and fell where Levy was seconds ago.

If it had been any other time, Levy would have hugged and cried thanking Lucy but the time was running out and the building was about to collapse. The 2 girls ran outside avoiding the falling debris but steps away from the main door, Lucy suffered the same fate when her foot collided with a rock ahead and she lost her balance and fell down. Levy saw her a second later but it was too late. A huge rock size roof fell between the 2 friends and Jet who was standing outside waiting for the girls to make up to the outside was forced to drag Levy away from the falling building in spite of her protests and struggle to return to Lucy. Just then, a huge piece of remaining roof began descending towards the fallen Lucy, who watched with wide eyes and then lost her consciousness.

Now Lucy seemed to remember that she jumped out of the way at last moment and quickly crawled her way to the corner where she was safe from the debris.

Lucy finally limped out of the lane to come at main streets when she witnessed the horrific scene in front of her.

The whole town was on fire. Almost every building and house was burning ablaze. The cries and shouts of mages were evident as some of them were caught in the fire and were trying hard to extinguish those flames.

When Lucy's eyes traveled further ahead, she saw even more terrifying scene.

On the grounds ahead, she could see several similar faces of her guild and the alliance. Elfman, Evergreen, Orga, Yukino, Lissana, Merudy, Juvia, Rufus, Jenny, Romeo, Ichiya, Ren, Hibiki, Eve, Sherry, Chelia and others were lying unconscious. Further limping ahead, she could see Macao, Reedus, Wakaba, Max, Jet, Droy, Levy, Cana and several other faces of her guild lying in a pool of blood. Laxus, Minerva, Mirajane, Erza, Jura, Jellal, Sting, Rogue, Kagura, Bacchus Gajeel, Gray, Lyon and several other strong mages who were supposed to fight in frontlines were either unconscious or too weak and wounded to fight.

Only few mages could be seen still fighting but they too were falling one by one. This war is close to its end and the result is crystal clear.

This is the last night of humanity. The morning sun will bring a new era: Era of evil and darkness.

"Lucy-san"

Lucy immediately turned around and saw Wendy approaching her. After a close look, she realized that she too was badly injured. Her right arm was heavily bleeding and she was obviously crying and Carla was nowhere around.

"We lost Lucy-san. We lost everything" Wendy said while crying.

Lucy too felt tears on her cheeks as she analyzed her surroundings. This place truly resembled hell now. Fire, war, deaths, screams and monsters… everything was present.

Lucy was jolted out of her thoughts when she realized the cracking sound behind them.

"Wendy! Lucy! Out of the way" Doranbolt screamed as he pushed the girls ahead and next moment the building fell down after a 15 feet tall monster appeared in front of them. The monster resembled an enlarged version of Taurus and Scorpio hybrid. The monster had the body of Taurus up to his waist and then after the waist, he had a body of scorpion.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME!" Soon another giant appeared at the same place and Lucy saw Makarov in his Titan form unleashing a barrage of attacks on the monster, who looked clearly beaten and losing against Makarov. This brought a little hope to Lucy who looked as Makarov lifted the monster above his head.

"Master! Behind you" Wendy screamed.

All of them turned behind but before they can see anything, all of them were blown away with a huge explosion that was intended for Master Makarov.

Lucy was the least injured among them as Master, Wendy and Doranbolt had lost consciousness…or they could even be dead. With that, the last flicker of hope too extinguished.

Lucy tried to see the attacker and after a bit of struggle, she saw him.

The leader of the enemies, the guy who declared the war on all the guilds of Fiore, the exceptional mage who took down all the Wizard saints by himself was standing tall on a building looking at the destruction and chaos that his minions and army created.

Standing above the town hall, was ex- Fairy Tail mage who destroyed all his former comrades by his own hands.

The fire dragon slayer with pink hair and onyx eyes

Natsu Dragneel a.k.a. 'Salamander'

The little monsters screamed out a cry of victory on fall of one of the strongest mages in battle.

It was then that Lucy noticed 3 of those lizard creatures coming to her.

" _I guess this is the end for me"_ Lucy thought as tears welled up her eyes.

The monsters prepared their attacks which were supposed to be finishing moves.

" _I am sorry everyone"_ Lucy thought

Though there could be any things that she can think in her final moments, only one thought came to her mind.

That particular day when it all began, the milestone that lead to the evil Natsu, war and that particular mission 10 years ago.

The misunderstandings, mistakes and accidents that lead to demise of them

" _I wish things hadn't turned out like that"_ Lucy thought _"then we could have saved Natsu"_

The final attack was fired that came towards Lucy.

" _Good bye everyone"_ Lucy closed her eyes as everything turned black afterwards.

-XXXXXX-

 **This brings an end to the opening chapter of this story. The first chapter will be posted on Saturday. The first chapter will begin with the starting of this event.**

 **And I have one more request. I need some OCs for this story. It would be a great help if you could send me some suggestions. 5-10 characters will be required. Details I would need are:-**

 **Name:**

 **Age:**

 **Attitude (cheerful, gloomy, serious, maniac, blood-lover etc.):**

 **Looks (Height, accessories and clothes):**

 **Powers (anything except Slayers and if possible new magic):**

 **Good side or Evil side:**

 **You can send your suggestions through review or PM. I would be back on Saturday with a new chapter.**

 **Until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW !**


	2. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I am back with a new chapter. It was fun writing this chapter esp. after so many positive reviews. Hope you like it. I had a hard time portraying the original Natsu so please don't mind if Natsu looks smarter in some parts;) Also, a very huge thanks to those who suggested OCs for the story.  
**

 **This story follows after Grand Magic Games Arc.**

 **I would like to give a special thanks to:**

 **snakeboy23  
LoverOfTragedies  
Roy-Aoiryuu  
gratsulover117  
Guest  
nico2883  
Deathslayer Night  
arielalife199  
BlankWhiteSky  
The Apex Predator 01  
FireWolf**

 **for their awesome reviews.**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the first chapter of the story.**

 **-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-**

 _ **Chapter 1: A plea from a stranger**_

It was one of the warm and peaceful mornings in Magnolia, and everyone was enjoying the peace as they were heading to their daily routine….until the peaceful morning was turned into the usual loud shouts and explosions around due to one really famous rowdy guild.

"You Flame brain! I am going to kick your ass" A raven haired boy who was running around shirtless in the guild shouted at his long time rival.

"Bring it on Ice Freak" His rival who had naturally pink hair (salmon, if you are really color-conscious) and a scarf around his neck too shouted with both of his hands ignited.

"These two… I can't even think ideas about my new novel when these 2 are around" A blonde haired girl who was sitting at the bar with her strawberry milkshake sighed as she watched her 2 teammates fighting each other as per their daily routine.

"Lucy, don't worry" A white-haired girl who was busy cleaning the plates smiled at the blonde girl "This is their way of greeting each other."

"I know Mira, but I wish Erza was here to stop the fights" Lucy replied while sipping her milkshake.

"Speak of the devil" Mirajane smiled as she spotted her formal rival entering the guild.

"NATSU! GRAY! ARE YOU FIGHTING?" The red-haired demon boomed in her scary tone.

"Not at all Erza, we are best friends and friends never fight" Gray replied as he and Natsu started jumping around with each others' arms around the shoulders.

"Aye" Natsu too agreed with Gray.

Lucy too stood from her seat and walked to her teammates once she realized that the coast was clear.

Even then Erza came forward and smacked her fist on their head.

"Ouch! What was that Erza?" Natsu asked rubbing the lump on his head.

"That was for screwing up the mission yesterday. Do you even realize how important that mission was for Lucy? Because of your recklessness, Lucy lost her money for the rent and now she will have to ask for a loan again from master" Erza growled at the 2 boys.

Actually Team Natsu went on a mission to capture the pirates who were robbing the passenger ships and were holding hostages. The mission was assigned by the mayor of Godsville town, whose daughters too were among the hostages. It was especially mentioned that they want the ship back along with hostages and the robbed money since the ship itself cost millions of jewels and was a symbol of legacy and craftsmanship of Godsville town.

Though Team Natsu managed to beat all the pirates and rescue all hostages with the money, they somehow ended up destroying the ship. They were lucky that the mayor's daughters and other hostages managed to convince the mayor; otherwise they were sure that the whole guild will be working in the farms and mines of the town for rest of their lives to repay the debts.

Obviously, the team came empty-handed and Lucy was all gloomy on their return journey. To make it worst, master lashed out all his anger on Erza about destruction since Natsu and Happy ran away for buying fish for the dinner and Gray hid somewhere to avoid being detected by his stalker Juvia, and master knew that Lucy is the only one in the team that will do the least destruction.

"I am seriously sick of you guys. I can't even count how much money we ended up losing just because you two can't stop your pointless arguments and destroying your surroundings. So as a punishment, you both are going to pay rent for Lucy's apartment. Is that understood?" Erza was seething with anger.

"Yes madam" both boys immediately nodded quivering like a twig.

Lucy was about to point out that it was Erza who made the finishing blow when she cut the ship like a piece of cake because she was feeling angry with Natsu and Gray's arguments. But when Erza ordered boys to pay her rent, she was satisfied and decided to let it slip by.

After Erza went her way and Natsu too disappeared somewhere, Lucy decided that she too should go home and rest as there is no way that they would be going on any mission today. Just when she was about to bid good-bye to Gray, she saw him glaring at her.

"What?" Lucy too glared back.

Gray just shook his head "Seriously, I don't get it. How come you always come clean while Erza drop her wraith on both of us?"

Lucy just went ahead and smacked Gray at the same place where Erza produced a lump minutes ago, resulting in him yelling out of pain "That's because I don't tend to destroy things like you two. Even Wendy too looks helpless when she accompanies us to the missions."

"OK okay I get it. We don't need a second Erza in our team" Gray said applying ice on his wound as Lucy went away ignoring him.

-XXX-

Lucy went to her apartment hoping that Natsu wouldn't be already there making a mess of her comfy bed and beautiful kitchen. Fortunately, her house was empty and as clean as she left it at morning.

Lucy took a shower since she was feeling hot and then made some lunch for herself. Just when she was about to take a short afternoon nap, she heard someone struggling with her window.

"So the idiot is back" Lucy said to herself as she stood up to welcome her pink-haired teammate.

"Hey Luce, what are you doing?" Natsu asked sitting on her bed

"Trying to sleep" Lucy suppressed a yawn "But since you are here, I don't suppose I would get any…Anyway, are you hungry? I think I have some leftovers from lunch."

"Sure" Natsu immediately followed her to the kitchen. He really loved Lucy's cooking and was satisfied with even the crumbs.

"Lucy you are the best" Natsu said as he continued stuffing his mouth with all the foods on the table making a mess on the table and on the floor.

Lucy shook her head in disappointment. Now she would have to clean her kitchen once again and took shower once more…but the satisfied and happy look on his face was worth it. That infamous grin did wonders to her. A small smile crept up on Lucy's face as she recalled that bright and toothy grin.

"Hey Luce" Natsu snapped her out of her thoughts "Let's go out today"

"No way, it's too hot today." Lucy straightaway refused the offer.

"What are you talking about? It's the best day I have seen in months" Natsu narrowed his eyes in confusion.

Of course, how can she forget? He is a fire dragon slayer. He eats flames for his food. The hotter, the merrier for him

Lucy just rolled her eyes at the cliche.

"OK fine. But I have to clean the kitchen and then change into some decent clothes" Lucy said

Natsu pumped his fists in air as if he had won a big battle.

"Fine, I will wait downstairs. I have to talk to your landlady anyways" Natsu stood up and proceeded to leave.

"Why are you going to talk to her?" Lucy asked surprised.

"Well" Natsu scratched the back of his neck "Ice princess is actually short on money so I guess I would have to pay the complete rent this time"

"Oh" Lucy felt guilty for a moment. After all, his magic is explosive one and can't be easily controlled "You know, I have some savings from previous missions. I can help" she said. She didn't wanted to go against punishment which Erza gave to them but maybe a little help…20,000 or 30…40…50,000 is final…or maybe she can offer complete rent…

"Nah, don't bother" Natsu said shrugging her offer "I have enough savings to pay your rent for a whole year at once"

"Oh that's a relief…WAIT! A WHOLE YEAR! A FREAKING WHOLE YEAR! 700,000 JEWELS AT ONCE!" Lucy could feel her eyes bulging out at his statement.

"Yup" Natsu smiled ignoring her reactions

"Natsu, do you rob the banks at night?" Lucy asked, maybe accompanying him would be a good idea.

"Hey, I am not a thief. It's just that I don't have any reason to spend the money. Happy is trying to lower his fish consumption to impress Carla and I frequently eat at home, I don't go for shopping after every mission and I don't loan the money so obviously whatever I earn, I don't spend any of it."

Lucy had to agree with him. He doesn't have rents, food, dresses, perfumes and accessories to worry about. So undoubtedly, he would have lots of money in his savings.

"OK. I would join you soon" Lucy said as Natsu left through door (surprisingly), to meet her landlady and pay her rent.

-XXX-

"So where are we going?" Lucy asked his partner as the duo reached the market.

"I don't know. I just wanted to roam around enjoy the heat for a while" Natsu said smiling contently at the hot temperature today.

"So why do you have to call me out of all the people? You could have gone with Happy" Lucy said who was sweating profusely and wiping her face every minute.

"Happy has gone on a mission with Wendy and Carla. So, you were the first choice after all. I hate roaming alone without any company. I thought you knew that" Natsu said to Lucy

"Whatever. At least, get an ice-cream for me. Will ya?" Lucy crossed her hands.

"Come on Luce, you already are getting fat. Eating ice-cream will make you chubbier" Natsu said to which he earned a big smack on his head.

"I am not fat" Lucy growled

"OK I get it. Now calm down" Natsu rubbed his head where Lucy smacked him.

Unknown to them, a stranger was watching them with careful eyes and then followed them to the ice-cream store.

-XXX-

Natsu got his Tabasco flavored ice-cream while Lucy preferred a vanilla + strawberry ice-cream. Both of them found a table and sat down with their ice-creams.

"The ice-cream tastes really good" Lucy said as she took the first bite of her ice-cream.

"Don't complain if Happy refuses to carry you because you are too heavy." Natsu said stuffing his mouth with Tabasco sauce and ice-cream.

Lucy kicked him under the table "Stop right now or I will make sure that you will be covered in so many bandages that you would get heavier than anyone else in the guild."

Natsu just shrugged, used to Lucy's threats.

"Um… excuse me, can I sit here?" The stranger that was following them was now standing in front of them.

"Oh…Of course" Lucy politely motioned to the seat in front of them.

"Thank you" the stranger replied and began twirling with a paper napkin on the table.

Natsu and Lucy were expecting a company for the stranger but when it looked that the stranger is alone, Lucy offered her the menu on the table.

"Would you like us to order anything for you?" Lucy asked

"Oh…um…a glass of water will be OK" the stranger replied in a meek feminine voice.

Lucy nodded and offered a glass of water to the stranger girl in front of them.

"You…you are Natsu Dragneel, Right?" the girl asked after she took a sip of water.

"Yeah, I am Natsu" Natsu replied "and she is Lucy" he pointed to her companion who greeted her back.

"I know you. I saw you both and other people in Sorcerer Weekly magazine" the girl replied in a timid and shy voice.

"Ha, I am pretty famous, right Luce? Just wait till Stripper sees that" Natsu grinned as he thought plans for playing pranks on Gray.

Lucy noticed that the girl seems scared for some reason, as she looked around for something or someone.

"Hey, you OK? You look…troubled" Lucy bent forward.

The girl looked shocked for a moment before she turned normal.

"Could you…Could you help me meet with Gildarts Clive? He is in your guild, I suppose" the girl said

"Gildarts…why do you want to meet that old geezer? Don't tell me you are his fan. He's so cool after all" Natsu said.

"No actually…I need his help for…saving my village" the girl looked down

"What do you mean by save your village?" Natsu bent forward narrowing his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"I…I am…" the girl stuttered

"Natsu" Lucy said in a scolding voice "Can't you see that she is scared? Stop frightening her"

"But Luce…" Natsu pouted.

"Don't mind him" Lucy turned to the girl "What is your name?"

"I am sorry…but I can't reveal my identity to you" the girl said looking downwards again.

Lucy sighed "Actually Gildarts is away on a hundred year quest... and it's impossible to contact him for now so I can't help you with this"

The girl looked disappointed "I see…"

"But if you could tell us your problem, I am sure there might be some other solution. So would you mind sharing your problem?" Lucy asked with a polite smile.

The girl hesitated before answering "I have come a long way from North. The name of my village is Chamonix which is located at foot of Mount Claries."

Lucy nodded and surprisingly even Natsu was hearing with deep attention.

"My village and its people are considered sacred and therefore had been target to many religious cults. But recently, our village was captured by a dark guild and they managed to annihilate one whole guild which was responsible for protection of our village. Our village then became a center for the religious cults and guilds who worship Zeref"

The mere mention of the dark wizard jolted the two mages and they turned their 100% attention to the girl in front of them.

"That dark guild was merely a branch of one big alliance. Every full moon night, thousands of dark mages and complete alliance assemble in our village for the holy sacrifice. In that ritual, ten females of our village were sacrificed to Zeref and family members of those females were forced to drink the blood."

Lucy felt tears welling up in her eyes as she heard the description and Natsu too was clenching his fist in anger.

"We were a family of 8. I am the youngest in my family. I had 2 sisters and 3 brothers along with mother and father. My mother and 2 sisters were already sacrificed and when my father and eldest brother protested about their ritual, they were brutally murdered. They never allowed us to step out of our village. Those who tried suffered severe consequences and we couldn't get any help from our nearby guilds since they could be keeping an eye on us. My 2nd brother had heard of a strong mage named Gildarts Clive of West who works with a guild known as Fairy Tail. He once saved the village from similar cults so we decided that we had to make a move and get help from Gildarts-san. But when we were escaping, my brother was caught and was held as a slave. And I think some people are still looking for me. I somehow managed to travel this far to find Fairy Tail to ask for help from Gildarts-san but…" the girl was freely sobbing now.

Suddenly the girl's hands were squeezed comfortably by Natsu who was having a serious expression on his face.

"Even if that geezer is not here, you don't need to worry. Fairy Tail is the no. 1 guild in Fiore. We have many strong mages here. I assure you that we will do our best and help your village against those cult, OK?" Natsu gave a small grin to the girl.

The girl looked surprised "But…but I don't have any money to pay you"

"No worries. We will take the payment in installments. Will that be OK?" Lucy too offered her assistance to calm the girl.

"Thank You…Thank you so much" the girl wiped her eyes.

"So do you have any idea about when the next ritual will take place?" Natsu got his serious expression back.

"The ritual takes place at every full moon night. So I suppose their next reunion will take place…6 days later" Lucy calculated on her fingertips.

The girl nodded in affirmative.

"But the village seems really far. So we should start heading for the village tomorrow" Lucy suggested "Will that be OK to you?"

The girl nodded in approval "I will be waiting at station tomorrow"

"Train!" Natsu turned pale on the mention of station.

"Wha…Is he okay?" the girl asked looking at sudden green face of Natsu.

"Never mind, it's an old habit" Lucy said "So we and our team will meet you at station tomorrow"

The girl stood up and slightly bowed to the mages "Thank you once again. I will be grateful for your help"

The girl then exited the restaurant without attracting attention.

"Mount Claries is like… the coldest region of this continent. I think I have to pack a lot of sweaters for this mission." Lucy said

"Don't worry" Natsu managed to climb on his chair back once he managed to overcome his nausea "I am sure Stripper have a pretty good idea of those places. He is from North, remember? And for the other thing, I can always keep you warm" Natsu grinned at Lucy.

A slight blush crept on her cheeks as Lucy turned the other way "Wha…what do you mean?"

"Oi! You said it yourself that I am your personal heater. I have heard it many times when I creep into your bed at night and you stick to me as if I am your cuddle buddy" Natsu laughed as Lucy hid her face to avoid embarrassment.

"I just hope you are prepared for this mission" Lucy said still hiding her face.

"Of course, I am all fired up." Natsu even blew some fire from his mouth to emphasize his point.

"That's not what I meant" Lucy smirked at Natsu "What I mean is, we have to spend 3 days and 2 nights complete in a train till we reach the last stoppage of train. Are you prepared?"

Natsu once again paled at the mention of journey by train as he banged his head on the table.

"I don't want to travel by train" Natsu made a crying face while having his horrible imaginations about transportation.

Now it was Lucy's turn to laugh at Natsu.

-XXX-

 **This brings an end to the first chapter of this story. Hope you liked it. Next chapter will be Team Natsu going for the mission with the stranger girl. I would be back soon with a new chapter. It will be a while till OCs will make an appearance so keep your suggestions coming.  
**

 **Till now, I have got 8 OCs which are considerable.  
**

 **Until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW !**


	3. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I am back with the new chapter. This chapter is about Natsu and team going to their destination. So are they going to reach their destination in one piece? Or there's going to be some hurdle before they even reach their destination? Who is this stranger girl?**

 **Lots of questions, but only one solution…Read the chapter!**

 **Now regarding OCs, I have already received 24 OC from various authors and guests. Some of them were even kind enough to send multiple OC. But there is something common among the OCs. Most of them were God like OCs… strong enough to defeat even Gildarts.**

 **Seriously guys, if all the characters are this strong, we don't even need a battle. This would be like a one shot victory. So I apologize in advance but I am going to make some few changes among the OCs' powers.**

 **Now it's time for acknowledgement. I would like to sincerely thank all the people who were followed and favorite me and this story.**

 **And special thanks to:**

 **Snakeboy33**

 **83519**

 **BlankWhiteSky**

 **LoverOfTragedies**

 **Wacko12**

 **For the awesome reviews. You people are the best!**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the third chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

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 _ **Chapter 2: Journey to North**_

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Lucy screamed as she noticed a presence in her bedroom once she got out of shower.

"Hey Lucy! Good morning" Natsu was sitting on her bed grinning like an idiot. He didn't care that she was wearing nothing except a towel around her.

Team Natsu was supposed to leave for Chamonix today for the mission. Lucy and Natsu had gone straight to guild from ice cream store to find Erza and Gray and ask them to accompany for the mission. Happy had gone on a mission with Gajeel, Wendy, Lily and Carla. Gray had happily agreed since he pretty much wanted to go at North and check out his first home. Erza was hard to convince since she is the one who would take a mission only after checking a brochure properly. Even the mention of Zeref didn't budge her. It was then that Natsu's rare smartness kicked in and he blamed Erza that she only cares for money and didn't wanted to help that girl because she don't have enough money. Even Lucy too supported her partner and cried some fake tears about girl's helplessness and Erza being selfish and cruel. That was last straw to wake Erza's emotional side and Erza immediately climbed on the table and declared that she will punish those villains that made Lucy and that girl suffer. Erza looked completely scary with her scarlet hair flowing wildly and fire in her eyes. The whole guild remained pin-drop silent, nobody wanting to feel Erza's wrath on themselves.

Natsu's grinning face met Lucy's foot as the latter was fuming about former's dense attitude and invading nature.

"WHY DON'T YOU ENTER THROUGH DOOR LIKE A PROPER GUY?" Lucy screamed in her high pitch tone.

"I told you many times there is no fun in that" Natsu said in a grumpy tone as he rubbed his face where Lucy landed her kick.

"Do I care?" Lucy glared at her menacingly forgetting that she was standing only in a towel "Now sit there till I return and don't you dare peeping in the dressing room" Lucy said wagging her index finger at him.

"Ok okay I get it" Natsu crossed his arms and looked in other direction "Now what I am supposed to do till you return?"

"Your problem, why did you even came here at first place?" Lucy asked as she picked clothes from her wardrobe.

"Well, I thought since I was the one who paid your rent; you could at least treat me to breakfast, and then we could have walked to station together. But I should have known that you are a big meanie" Natsu pouted childishly.

Lucy, being the biggest forgiving girl she was, immediately felt guilty for treating Natsu this way. He only had good intentions yet she kicked him immediately as she saw him.

"Ok fine. I will make something for you as soon as I finish changing" Lucy smiled at Natsu but immediately her jaw dropped when she saw him checking her underwear drawer.

"This one is pretty flexible. Don't you think Lucy?" Natsu said as he stretched a red underwear and almost tore it.

"NATSU!" Lucy screamed like a maniac and rushed towards Natsu.

"Huh!" Natsu turned towards the scream but before he could understand anything, he was sent flying out of the window with Lucy kick.

"You pervert" Lucy growled as she went in her dressing room completely red due to anger and embarrassment, after making sure the window is properly locked.

-XXX-

Lucy reached station an hour later expecting that she isn't last person to arrive. She saw Natsu and Gray already there bickering about their achievements. She noticed that Erza and their client, the stranger girl, was still nowhere to be found. So she assumed that she is on time.

"You ash-for-brains, are you telling me that you are more handsome than me?" Gray tried to push Naruto with their forehead colliding.

"I am way better than some ice goat who can't even remember when he stripped down to his underwear" Natsu too tried the same approach towards Gray.

"Look who's talking, a pink haired idiot who turns green every time he hears a vehicle's sound" As on cue, Natsu turned slightly green when he hears a train's whistle.

"You want to go Popsicle" Natsu screamed as he lit his fists on fire.

"Bring it on flame ass" Gray too challenged him as he came into his battle stance.

"HERE I COME" both of them shouted while running towards each other.

"Erza is here"

Both of them slipped and lost their balance on hearing Lucy's voice.

Lucy laughed on the boys as they accidentally hit themselves by their magic. Natsu's vest was on fire while Gray was trying to find his voice after his cold ice froze his face.

"Lucy!" both boys screamed once they came out of their misery.

Lucy just raised her hands in surrender while still laughing.

"Hel…Hello"

Lucy turned behind to see the stranger girl from yesterday standing awkwardly shuffling her feet.

"Oh, how are you?" Lucy beamed at her resulting in girl blushing and turning her face to hide her red cheeks, though they are still covered.

"I…I am fine. I hope I am not late" the girl said already looking ready to apologize.

"No, we are still expecting one member of our guild" Lucy said looking at the clock on platform "we had already purchased your ticket so just relax"

"Than…Thank you" the girl said bowing to her.

"Don't mention it" Lucy waved her hands to imply her words.

"Eh, are you our client?" Gray appeared behind Lucy bored after bickering with Natsu.

"He's Gray and he is an ice mage" Lucy introduced them "and she is…"

The girl was furiously red. She looked like she will faint anytime.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Lucy turned to see where the girl was looking and immediately screamed "Gray! Your clothes…"

Gray looked down to see that he is only in his underwear. Many people were staring at him. The old residential folks who were used to see Gray this way paid him no attention but tourists and new people were gawking at him. Males were trying to cover females' eyes as much as possible.

"Oh shit, not again" Gray made an apologizing face and ran away to find his missing clothes.

"Ha ha…that's stripper for ya" Natsu laughed clutching his chest.

Even Lucy smiled as she saw some young women fawning over Gray's naked body.

Their attention was soon diverted to Erza who was pulling a huge cart behind her that contained all the armor she owns and her luggage for the journey.

Even the stranger girl sweat-dropped on seeing the huge cart

"By your looks I would assume that this is nothing unusual" the girl said to Lucy.

"Yes…Nothing unusual" Lucy said with a sigh.

"So you are the one who hired our team for the mission" Erza asked once she reached to them.

"Y…Yes" the girl said feeling a little uneasy.

The next moment the girl found her face hitting the metal breastplate of Erza's armor.

"Don't worry. This knight will protect his client for as long as she desires. I, Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail, give you my word that I will find that happiness which was lost in the sands of time and bring it back to you and your village so that no tears escape from the eyes of your villagers. Will you, oh stranger girl, give a chance to this knight and her teammates to prove their worth and bring spring of hopefulness back to you and your village?" Erza bowed on one knee and her eyes had a strange glint.

The girl was heavily sweating profusely when Erza finished her talking. She looked at others who also had their jaws dropped.

" _Why do I feel like I had seen similar glint before?"_ Lucy thought than it clicked _"Loki"_

"What's the deal with Erza?" Natsu asked Gray.

"I had heard from Levy that Erza is reading literature now-a-days, but nobody knows the reason" Gray replied.

"I think it has something to do with Loki" Lucy said "I also think I saw Loki and Erza talking something about 'lessons for a proper lady'.

"Considering this is Loki giving the lessons, I wouldn't be surprised if she would re-quip into some sexy prom dress while fighting" Gray snickered "But seriously, where did that interest appeared from all of a sudden?" Gray said still not believing whatever he is hearing "Is it to impress the clients?"

Natsu shook his head once again showing his mature side "It's not like they will throw some extra jewels for her etiquettes and by the look on that girl's face, it's not a good idea after all"

"I don't think this is for clients. This may be for some other person" Lucy suggested "But who could be the person that Erza would like to impress with her feminine charms?"

"Definitely a love interest" Gray rubbed his chin which was copied soon by Natsu and Lucy.

Soon their eyes widened as realization struck them at once.

"Jellal!" All three exclaimed at once.

"Natsu, how did you know?" Lucy was surprised.

"I heard Mira and Lissana talking about possible pairings" Natsu huffed crossing his arms "and Happy too told me that Erza likes him"

Lucy nodded in understanding. The Exceed was definitely smarter than his master.

Finally the stranger girl calmed down and looked towards Lucy who just shrugged.

The stranger girl sighed before replying.

"Oh mighty knight, bringer of light and who scares darkness away, stand tall, raise your sword, erase darkness away, and lead us to the path to brightness and prosperity"

Natsu, Gray and Lucy felt their jaws hitting grounds.

" _SHE IS EVEN BIGGER LITERATURE FREAK"_ they all exclaimed.

Erza looked at the stranger girl with her Chibi face for moments before she finally stood up, pulled her sword out raising it towards train and screamed "Everyone aboard the train"

"Yes ma'm" everyone on the platform including Team Natsu saluted the Titania and rushed inside the train. Even people who were supposed to catch some other train too climbed the train in fear of the red-haired demon. They all looked like crew members boarding a ship going to war.

Erza raised her sword high up in the sky "To Chamonix we go"

-XXX-

The train started to leave the station and soon enough Natsu collapsed to the floor with a sickly green face, but no one paid any heed to the dragon slayer. They all knew that this is a long journey and Natsu will be sick the whole time. They knew that Natsu won't spoil the cabin or Erza will kill him.

"Are you the only normal one in your team?" the stranger girl said to Lucy who was sitting near her as she observed Natsu struggling on the floor as if he has been poisoned.

"I think so" Lucy sighed "there is also one girl Wendy in our team. I guess she is the only other sane member of our team though she is too shy to talk. You two would become good friends if you met her"

"I see" the stranger girl said, her eyes still glued on Natsu.

"Ahem" Erza cleared her throat to gain attention of everyone in the cabin "Though Natsu and Lucy had already told me about the mission, but it would be better if I hear that from you too"

The girl nodded "I understand Erza-san"

"Thank you. So some dark guilds who worship Zeref are targeting your village and you are helpless against them"

"We are basically defenseless against them. Not only are we outnumbered, but also none of us knows magic. The strongest in our village can fight with sticks or knives at most. We have no way to fight them. Our only option is to surrender and wait for the death. We feel like prisoners in our own village. Our freedom, happiness, cheerfulness have diminished to nothing. Those who tied to revolt were brutally killed. Children are forced to work in the fields and other things. I am the only successful person till now who managed to sneak out of village, but I still feel I am followed and watched" the girl said with her head down.

"Don't worry about that. You are now in our protection. No one will dare to touch you as long as we are here" Gray said "If you don't mind, can you tell us your name? We can't go around calling you by different names." The girl was hesitating "I know you have some privacy issues. Lucy already told us about that. But you can trust us to keep your identity secret. Me, Erza, Lucy and, if this sick person still has his ears open, Natsu will be the only person who will know the name. We won't tell this to even our guild master. Will that be OK?"

"It's not that I don't trust you people, the thing is that I think if someone managed to listen our conversation, they will knew it's me and they will drag me back to that dreadful place, but if you insist…" the girl took out her mask to show her azure eyes and copper red hair, she was breathtakingly beautiful.

"…My name is Mia"

-XXX-

Hours passed and Natsu was still curled on the floor clutching his chest. He wanted to vomit but knew the consequences. Erza will beat her to death; Stripper will make fun of him for more than a month just like he makes of him and Luce will give him cold shoulder for weeks. It was hard but he had dragon's spirit inside his body. He will conquer this weakness of him. He had to prove that he is a better dragon slayer than Gajeel and esp. that Saber bastard Sting. He will survive this journey all in one piece. And of course, the train will have stops too. So he doesn't have to worry about continuous journey. He tried his best to remain as saner as possible and listen to the conversation between his team and client whose name was revealed to be Mie …or something like that. He listened as the girl repeated the story she told Lucy and him yesterday in Ice-cream store. Erza was angry and vowed to punish them in her most dangerous way and stomped on Natsu to let out her frustration. Natsu tried to let out a cry of pain as Erza's armored foot made contact with his chest. But it never came out since he felt an urge to vomit came when he opened his mouth. Soon everyone lied to rest for now. There were 4 berths in the cabin so obviously Natsu was left to cuddle with floor and other four took a berth each.

It was one of those moments when he missed Happy. His Exceed partner was always there with him for many years when they went to missions. Happy would always take care of Natsu when it came to transportation. He never complained about taking care of him. And these…they are all meanies. They didn't even ask about his condition. Natsu was desperately wishing that Happy was here.

"Natsu"

Natsu looked above to see Happy flying in his direction smiling towards him.

"Happy!" Natsu forgot all about his motion sickness and rushed towards the flying cat with his arms open.

Both of them met like long lost brothers, each crying tears of joy.

"I missed you so much Happy. Please don't go again" Natsu said crying.

"Aye" Happy replied "How are you doing? How is everyone doing?"

"They are mean. They threw me on floor and they didn't even asked how I am feeling" Natsu continued crying.

"Don't worry Natsu. I am here now. I will save you from this wicked transportation" A sword appeared in little paws of Happy and Natsu felt his **knight in shining armor** in Happy. Suddenly 3 demons by the name of Erza, Gray and Lucy appeared and began to fight Happy. His friend fought bravely but they succeeded in pulling Natsu inside the horror castle known as **Train**.

"HAPPY!"

"Natsu!"

"Flame brain"

Wait. Flame brain?

Natsu opened his eyes to see his four companions surrounding him. The train was standing on a platform and it was already dark.

"What the hell were you screaming about?" Gray asked.

"I guess it was a bad dream" Natsu rubbed his eyes.

"Bad dream? You were shouting 'Fight my hero…defeat the demons…don't leave me alone.' It seems like you were some ugly pink haired hentai princess waiting for some prince to rescue her" Gray laughed.

Natsu just shook his head in disappointment. _"I guess my fear of transportation is taking a toll on my mind"_

Natsu saw Lucy offering water to him. He accepted the bottle and took a long sip before returning the bottle and thanking the blonde for it. Erza and Mia had already returned to their berths to sleep after seeing that everything is fine. Gray too had climbed the upper berth to go to sleep. Lucy and Mia were sleeping on lower berths while Gray and Erza climbed on upper berths.

"Natsu, why don't you come and lie on the seat?" Lucy offered.

"What about you?" Natsu asked.

"I already had my sleep earlier. I don't feel sleepy anymore" Lucy smiled.

Natsu shrugged as he stood up and sat adjacent to Lucy who began to stand up to make space for former, but Natsu stopped him and put his head in her lap.

"It's better this way" Natsu grinned and Lucy too replied with same grin as she began running her finger into his soft pink hair.

"So Natsu what did you dream about?" Lucy asked and Natsu paled. If he told her that she was a scary demon in his dream, she will definitely throw him back to the floor.

"It's a little embarrassing. I will tell you later sometime" Natsu avoided the big blow.

Lucy nodded and began looking outside window still caressing his hair.

"So did you discuss something important while I was out? I think that girl told that her name is Mei" Natsu asked as train began moving once again, but Natsu was comfortable now.

Lucy narrowed her eyes "It's Mia not Mei. I don't get it. How are you so forgetful about girls' names? You called me Luigi and Lissana too told that you used to call her Lasagna initially. Do you only see food when it comes to girls?" Natsu rolled his eyes "As for your question, not much; Most of the time, it was Gray and Mia sharing their knowledge about Northern mountains. They were planning a safe way to rescue the hostages. Everyone was tired so they went to sleep."

Natsu saw Gray softly snoring and one of his hand unbuttoning his shirt.

" _So he even strips while he is asleep"_ Natsu shook his head in disappointment _"I wonder what Happy must be doing"_

-XXX-

Happy was crying tears as Gajeel forced him to carry the entire luggage.

Gajeel was laughing in satisfaction while Wendy was looking with pity towards blue cat. Carla and Lily maintained a neutral expression.

"Gajeel-san, don't you think it's a long time since Happy is carrying the luggage? We should give him some rest." Wendy said.

"No way, I have to still take my revenge on Salamander for pushing me in the cart during our match against Saber tooth. Since he isn't here, I will take revenge through Happy" Gajeel laughed maniacally.

Carla and Lily both shook their heads in disappointment.

"Natsu, save me from this metal head" Happy said looking at stars.

"What did you said?"

"No…Nothing"

"Shut up and keep moving, before I double your punishment"

"Natsu…help me" Happy said while crying anime tears.

-XXX-

Natsu and team were sleeping as the train continued to approach its destination. It had been 2 days since Team Natsu had left for Chamonix. They had already entered the North and were supposed to reach Chamonix by evening next day. Fortunately, Mia was able to buy some motion sickness pills for Natsu so that he won't collapse every time the train is in motion. Natsu had never been so grateful to anyone except Wendy for the cure. The team even fought some bandits who tried to rob the train but were unaware that the mages were present in the train. They were weak still they got a handsome reward for the job.

Everyone was suddenly jolted awake when the train stopped all of a sudden. Gray even fell from his berth and Erza, who was awake for watch-over duty too stood up to check.

"What happened?" Mia asked from her seat "Why the train did stopped all of a sudden?"

"No idea" Erza said "Maybe there is some technical problem in train"

They heard ticket checker appear in their coach with a lantern.

"Everything alright?" Erza asked.

"No. We got a message that someone destroyed the railway tracks ahead. Maybe some more bandits have appeared to rob the train" The TC was heavily sweating "I am going ahead to check other coaches. Please defeat those bandits if they reappear again"

"We will" Erza replied as TC ran away ahead shouting to passengers to remain in their seat.

"Well, this area has always been famous for robberies and bandits. Let's knock some sense into them" Gray rose from his seat.

"I am all fired up. Also, I didn't got to do much last time" Natsu stood up from his seat as well.

"No"

All of them turned towards Mia who was looking towards floor with wide-eyes.

"It's them…yes they are…them"

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

"I knew that they will find me" Mia said with tears in her eyes.

"Who is 'they'?" Erza asked.

"You don't mean…"

Lucy's sentence was interrupted by a loud explosion in their coach, which turned out to be smoke bombs.

Team Natsu looked around to see if they could find the attacker but they all went flying out through windows when a strong beam of magic struck them.

Mia was horrified and tried to check but was soon interrupted when she felt some presence behind her.

"So you finally returned, eh?"

Mia turned to see 3 identical looking 7 foot tall men wearing green robes and cross over their foreheads.

"You even brought some help. How touching!" another man, who was leader said glaring at Mia.

"Now little girl, it's time to go home. Master is looking forward for you with the punishment" the last man said as he pulled out chains from his sleeves.

Mia was too terrified to move. The attackers bound her with chain and took her to their flying magical cart where their minions were waiting. Mia saw seven other people in the vehicle sitting.

"This will be a lesson to all your villagers" another person who was sitting on driving seat said.

" _I am sorry everyone"_ Mia said while closing her eyes to prevent her tears from falling.

"STOP!"

Everyone turned around to see Team Natsu running through smoke.

"Stop them" the leader shouted.

One of the men stepped down.

"Fire Magic: Furnace Blast"

Huge explosive fire raced towards Team Natsu.

"This will end the show for your friends" the attacker snickered.

But soon the grin disappeared as he saw his fire disappearing. On closer look, he saw a pink haired brat sucking his fire like a food.

"What the…he is eating the fire!" the attacker felt his eyes bulging out.

Gray stopped the remaining fire with his Ice Shield and Erza re-quipped into her Flame Empress armor.

"Damn it. They are strong. Everyone in the vehicle, we are leaving" the leader ordered as the attacker jumped in the cart which was already taking off from the ground.

"You aren't going anywhere" Lucy shouted as she took out her key "Open gate of the Centaur: Sagittarius"

Sagittarius appeared immediately prepared with his bow and arrows.

"Shoot those magical orbs and stop that vehicle" Lucy ordered.

"Right away Miss Lucy, moshi moshi"

Sagittarius shot with point blank accuracy and shot the 2 magical orbs behind the vehicle which was absorbing magic from the driver.

The vehicle began to stumble in the air.

"What happened?" the leader shouted.

"They shot our vehicle. It's going to crash" the driver shouted.

Everyone watched as the vehicle was forced to land a short distance away to avoid crashing.

"Good job Sagittarius" Lucy fist pumped.

Sagittarius saluted and returned to the Celestial realm.

Team Natsu rushed to their landing spot and saw 3 of them coming out of cart.

"This is over for you" Erza pointed her sword at them "Surrender and we will do no harm to you"

"Surrender?" the leader appeared in front "I am sorry but that's not going to happen. Even if it costs our life, this girl will go to her village and will be offered to Lord Zeref"

"Not going to happen" Gray stood in his battle stance "Looks like we will have to teach you the hard way"

"Sure" the other guy said "but you will have to take care of this first"

The vehicle suddenly transformed into a huge robot and threw a huge dark wave at them which the group barely dodged.

"I will take care of it" Erza re-quip into her Flight armor

"Ok" Natsu said "Me and Stripper will take care of these triplets"

Gray didn't even try to argue on the nick name.

"Lucy, take care of Mia" Gray said.

Lucy rushed towards Mia who somehow made out of vehicle before its transformation.

"Before we begin, let me tell you that as a team, we never lost. We are widely known in north as Brothers of Vengeance"

"Bring it on" Natsu challenged after igniting his fist on fire "We will tell you why Fairy Tail is known as no. 1 guild in Fiore"

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 **And the action begins…This brings an end to third chapter of the story. I got much less reviews for the second chapter in comparison to first chapter. I suppose you all were looking forward to some action but alas, you will have to wait for the next chapter to see it.**

 **I might have over-extended the motion sickness thing. But believe me, I too used to suffer this similar fate once, though mine was only limited to bus. I know all the weird thing that comes in mind once this disease kicks in. The imaginations kept getting weirder, the longer the journey was. I seriously feel sorry for the dragon slayers since I am out of this misery but they don't.**

 **It might take some time for story to reach the point when Natsu turns evil, but believe me, it's worth waiting.**

 **So I will see you soon with new chapter.**

 **Until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Hi guys! A big sorry to those who have been eagerly expecting my chapter. I am in middle of my exams and I was able to type hardly 100-200 words in a day on average. But at last, I was able to finish the chapter. Though I am sort of glad that I actually waited. In this one month interval, so much has happened in Fairy Tail manga. I still can't believe that Natsu actually turned out to be E.N.D. I used to laugh at this idea whenever I saw it in fanfic, but now I think that Hiro Mashima actually reads fanfics for the ideas. Another good thing is that we now know who are the 4 gods of Ishgar. I am seriously looking forward to this arc.**

 **This chapter is the first complete action chapter of the story. So for all action lovers, here is your treat. I managed a decent 4k+ words long chapter.**

 **And an important announcement, I will discontinue taking OCs after Chapter 7 of this story. So if you still have suggestions, please PM me or you can mention it in your review.**

 **Now moving to acknowledgement,**

 **I would like to sincerely thank all the people who followed and favorite me and the story.**

 **And special thanks to:**

 **Trevor607**

 **gratsulover117**

 **Rose A (Don't kidnap me please _/\\_)**

 **NightStory**

 **snakeboy33**

 **And most importantly, LoverOfTragedies**

 **For the awesome reviews. I am really grateful to you guys. Please keep showing your support.**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the fourth chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

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 _ **Chapter 3: Brothers of Vengeance**_

"No. 1 guild!" The one in the right raised his eyebrow "This should be interesting"

"You wish!" Gray said as a magic circle appeared under him " **Ice Make: Lance** "

Several ice lances flew towards the three of them. But surprisingly the lances stopped a few feet before they can even reach them.

"What was that?" Gray asked to himself.

"If this is all you got, I should warn you" the left one said "You won't be able to touch us"

"Shut the hell up" Natsu rushed towards the three of them with his fist ignited at a really fast speed but as he neared his opponents, he felt himself getting slower each second. When he finally got close enough, he was already really slow. So the guy at the left just punched him hard enough to send him back to Gray.

"Damn it. What just happened?" Natsu asked standing back.

The guy in the middle just smirked "Want to try once again?"

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20 minutes had gone by and Natsu and Gray were on their knees panting hard even though their opponents were still standing without even breaking a sweat

"So this is it?" the first person said "You sure were acting some high and mighty telling that you belong to a no. 1 guild. What was the name again…Fairy ass?

"It's Fairy Tail you bastard" Natsu once again tried to attack but again his speed was reduced to nothing till he reached the 3 opponents and with a powerful kick was sent back rolling to Gray. Both of them were surprisingly feeling tired and weak even though they only received few kicks and punches only.

"What the hell is wrong with these guys?" Gray said "I don't even see a magic circle under them"

"Looks like this is all you have" one of their opponents said "We are already running short on time. So I guess we should finish off now"

All 3 of them threw their capes to reveal similar battle attire.

"I am Alpha, the leader. I use Gravity magic" the one in the centre said.

"I am Beta, the attacker. I use Digging magic" the one on the left said.

"I am Delta, the defender. I use Clay make magic" the one on the right said.

"And from what we saw, the pink-haired brat is Natsu…"

"My hair is not pink" Natsu screamed.

"…and he uses fire magic and he can even eat fire. The other brat without clothes…"

"Shit" Gray cursed when he saw that he is only wearing boxers at that moment.

"…is Gray and he uses Ice magic. Once we are done with you, we will take care of ladies." Alpha summarized his observation "Maybe we can even take them and sell them at slave market at good prices"

Natsu and Gray growled and stood up to fight again.

"So now, watch your own demise by our hands, mages of Fairy Tail" Beta said as he put a helmet with steel horns over his head.

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Erza too was having a hard time against humongous robot which was moving too fast for his size. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Natsu and Gray on their knees.

"Damn it. I have to finish it off quickly so that I could help them. But this creature is just…really tough to battle" Erza said as she kept on avoiding the explosive ball it kept raining on her.

"I could have defeated it with my Adamantine armor, but that armor is a bit slow. There must be some way to defeat it" Erza growled as she switched over to flight armor again to avoid the huge blows that were being fired by the robot.

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Natsu and Gray never felt any helpless before. ( _I am not sure about Natsu since he has motion sickness_ ).

Beta had dug into the ground and was now appearing at random places and then charged towards them like some raging bull. The fact that he was faster than them also didn't help it. Both the boys were adorning several cuts and bruises from the attack. Even when Natsu ignited his whole body on fire, Beta attacked by appearing just below him and launching him above the ground and to make it worse, Natsu landed straight on the pointed horns resulting in his heels getting impaled by those horns.

Gray, being the stripper he was, got more wounds than Natsu. Beta even broke through his Ice shield and igloo. Even when he made an ice platform for him and Natsu to step on, so that they remain out of the range, Delta simply knocked their platform down with his Clay make: Cannon.

Lucy was on sidelines watching her friends getting beaten up. She wanted to help but can't find anything to help them. She too was having a hard time figuring out the attacks. Their magic was rare, never before she had seen such magic. Though Libra used gravity magic to trap the opponents, it's first time Lucy saw that this magic can also be used to slow down the opponents.

"This is really unexpected" Lucy said as she saw Natsu getting hit by Beta once again.

"These guys are really strong. The 3 of them wiped a whole guild on their own. I don't think we will get past them" Mia said, her eyes already brimming with tears.

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Lucy snapped looking at Mia "We are not going down that easily"

"Then what do you suppose can be done? They are already moving towards finishing shots" Mia too snapped back.

Lucy took one small glance towards Natsu, Gray and Erza. They told her not to get involved but this time she would have to disobey.

"I must ask my spirits for help. I can't see them getting beaten that easily." Lucy immediately fumbled with her keys and decided to call Loki. The Leo spirit appeared in front of Lucy.

"Ah princess, what can I do for you?" Loki asked in his usual flirty tone.

Lucy simply pointed to the battle going in front of them. Loki was surprised to see Natsu and Gray get beaten like a pulp. Even Erza too was having hard time battling against the huge robot.

"Who the hell are these people?" Loki asked.

"They call themselves Brothers of Vengeance. I never saw such magic before" Lucy said.

"They sure are strong. They look like they are toying with Natsu and Gray" Loki said.

"I know, and if this keeps on going, soon both of them bleed out to death" Lucy said in a worrying tone.

"If it were different circumstances, I am sure this would have been a scene worth teasing" Loki snickered.

"Loki, you are not helping" Lucy glared.

"Don't worry, there must be some opening to strike for sure" Loki turned his attention to fight.

"By the way, care to explain their magic?" Loki asked.

Lucy nodded "The guy over there" she pointed towards Alpha "he calls himself the leader and he uses Gravity magic. The other guy" she pointed towards Delta "he calls himself defender and he uses Clay make magic and the guy that appears out from nowhere uses Digging Magic"

Loki kept looking at the fight for some time. Every time there was a pattern. Beta dived into the ground and Alpha just stood making different postures from his hands. Delta kept Natsu and Gray distracted with his Clay Magic and then Beta would appear from somewhere below the ground and rushed with full speed and pierced Natsu and Gray before diving back into ground. Loki kept looking for about a minute before he understood the scenario.

"Alright, I get it" Loki snapped his fingers.

"What did you see?" Lucy asked, hope clearly present in her voice.

"See that guy over there" Loki pointed towards Alpha "I think he is controlling the speed of that digging guy and that robot"

Lucy nodded. Indeed Alpha was the only person who wasn't fighting. He was just standing at the sidelines keenly watching and doing something with his hands.

"If we have to stop that guy with horns, we have to defeat him first" Loki said.

"Easier said than done" Mia said "He is the leader. How are you going to stop him?"

"I…have a plan" Loki said adjusting his sunglasses.

"Really?" Lucy could sense a slight relief inside her.

"Lucy, there is a reason I am leader of Twelve Zodiacs" Loki said somewhat offended "Think you have enough magic?"

"Well…yeah, what are you planning?" Lucy asked

"You will see" Loki smirked "They were on the attacking side because they have number advantage. It's time we pull that advantage to ourselves"

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Erza jumped a few feet behind to dodge the large foot of the robot that was about to crush him.

"Damn, that machine is too fast for its size. I can't even find any opening to attack" Erza growled.

Just then Loki appeared in front of her.

"Loki, what are you doing here? Go help Natsu and Gray" Erza shouted dodging one more attack.

"I will but before that, we have to stop the cannon of this robot. Do you know where that lacrima that is providing power is?" Loki asked

"I figured it out. Its 20 cm left to the robot's mouth. But I am unable to reach it. This robot has actually switched to bullets now"

"Keep it engaged. I would stop it really fast" Loki said as he once again appeared near Lucy.

"Call Sagittarius, Erza figured out the location of Lacrima. We have to shoot it" Loki said.

Lucy nodded and summoned Sagittarius and told the plan.

"Ok miss Lushy…I understand" Sagittarius took out his arrows and with 3 arrows at once, shoot the said Lacrima.

The robot struggled and lost his magic power.

"Grrr… you insolent mages…Just because you managed to destroy the Lacrima, it doesn't mean you have won. The robot is still as fast as ever. You will all be crushed under his foot" One of the men who was controlling robot shouted at Erza.

"Leave it to me now" Erza said " **The Giant's Armor!** "

With a blink of light, Erza was covered in a yellow armor with barbaric appearance and adorned with numerous fur trimmings around the armor's joints. Erza even grew up 2 feet taller and looked like some fighting doll.

"I will take care of this robot now" Erza said as her De-Malevo Lance appeared in her right hand.

Lucy nodded.

"Let's help Natsu and Gray now" Loki said as he rushed ahead of Lucy and Mia.

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"AHHHH"

Natsu screamed as Beta once again managed to strike him on his right calf. Before Natsu could even attack, he once again disappeared into the ground. Gray had worse condition. He was bleeding from many places already and still he was trying to fight by freezing his wounds.

"So much for a top guild" Alpha said with his usual emotionless face.

"Shut…shut up" Gray said still hissing from the pain.

"We already told you that we are untouchable. You should have understood by now. You are no in condition to fight now. I am giving you one last chance. Give up and hand over that girl to us. We will retreat and you and your friends can leave all in one piece" Alpha said as Beta and Delta stood near him.

"We don't need your pity" Natsu said standing once again "A true Fairy Tail mage never betrays their clients. We will fight to our last breath"

"I see" Alpha said after a moment "As much as I would like to clap for this catchphrase, I can't. So I suppose it can't be helped. I will respect your last wish. You were formidable opponents. You have our respect for standing up for so long. The next strike will be the end for you. Farewell"

Alpha turned towards Beta "Finish them"

Beta nodded before diving into the ground once again.

Natsu and Gray turned pin-drop silent waiting for any signal. Soon they heard sounds coming from underground.

"Where is brother Beta?" Delta said looking around "He should already be out"

"I wonder" Alpha said.

Few seconds later, Beta appeared at his original position near Delta. His forehead was bleeding.

"What's with the wound brother? You hit a rock or something?" Delta asked Beta.

"I don't know. Someone attacked me underground" Beta said wiping blood from his forehead.

"Attack from underground?" Alpha was surprised. Natsu and Gray too were surprised.

"Maybe it was that blonde girl" Delta said.

"Huh! Lucy can actually dig the ground. Why didn't she told me?" Natsu pouted and Gray face-palmed.

"You idiot! It's not Lucy" Gray shouted.

"If it isn't that girl, then who could be it?" Alpha narrowed his eyes.

In response, a pink-haired girl in a maid uniform appeared out of the ground near Natsu.

"Virgo!" Natsu and Gray screamed.

"You were right" Natsu and Gray turned behind to see Lucy holding Virgo's key.

"Beta was successfully stopped" Lucy grinned at Loki.

Natsu and Gray scoffed at the way Loki began to act all mighty and important after Lucy's compliment.

"So you are a Celestial Mage" Beta said looking at Lucy.

Lucy nodded in affirmative.

"Natsu, you take care of Alpha. I and Virgo will fight Beta & Gray and Loki will take care of Delta"

"But that guy uses Gravity magic. How am I going to even touch him?" Natsu asked.

"He uses Gravity Magic. That means anything which has a mass; he can control it by his magic. Fire is mass less so he won't be able to stop your fire" Loki said.

"Then why did my attacks always turned slow whenever I tried to attack?" Natsu asked.

"That's because, you were stupid enough to rush to them with fire in your hand. You never even tried throwing any attack" Gray commented.

"Hmm…that makes sense" Natsu thought aloud.

"I congratulate you for figuring out the strategy. But with 2 of your comrades in a meager condition, you have little to no chance of winning" Delta said with clay surrounding his hands.

"We will see" Gray said as ice surrounded his hands and Loki too took his battle stance.

"Just because I don't have Alpha's magic to boost my attack, it doesn't mean I got weak. I can still fight pretty ladies and defeat them easily" Beta said once again adjusting his helmet with steel horns.

"I would like you to try" Lucy took out her whip and Virgo too took out her trademark spade.

"You are still persistent to fight. You won't last long against me" Alpha said as Natsu stood in front of him.

"Don't worry. I won't take long to beat you for the payback" Natsu said igniting his fist on fire.

"Very well; Let the battle begin" Alpha said as he picked a huge rock by his magic and tossed it at Natsu who responded by blasting it with his Fire magic.

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Erza noticed that the robot was slowing down. She turned and saw that Lucy and Loki too joined the battle.

"So finally everyone is in the battleground. I have to finish this quickly" Erza said as she turned her attention back to the huge robot.

Swiftly, she sliced one of the hands of the robot with her De-Malevo Lance.

"Oh no" the mages which were controlling the robot shouted as they saw the robot stumbling "The machine took a severe damage. We have to do something"

"Enough with the games" Erza raised her sword "It's time I finish you off"

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" **Clay Make: Serpents** "

" **Ice Make: Eagles** "

The 2 creations collided in center and neutralized each other.

"Never thought I will use that bastard Lyon's spell" Gray mumbled.

"You should know that your opponent is using Dynamic Clay-make and you basically use Static Ice-make. That will be defensive approach if you counter Dynamic type with Static type" Loki said.

"You sure know a lot about Ice-Make magic" Gray quirked an eyebrow.

Loki sighed. "Don't even ask. Capricorn, that bastard, is forcing me to read all the books on magic present in Celestial World's library. It has something to do with me being the leader" Loki was trying to hide, but Gray could see that Loki is angry.

"I see" Gray simply answered.

"I am still right here" Delta shouted " **Clay Make: Battle Axe** "

Gray jumped before Delta could strike " **Ice Make: Sword** "

Both of them clashed their weapons and a little crack appeared on Gray's sword.

"Ha, your puny ice is no match for my clay" Delta snickered.

"You fell for it" Gray smirked.

"What?" Delta looked above to see Loki jumping with his power.

Delta immediately jumped back to dodge the attack.

"Good one Loki" Gray and Loki hi-fived "Ready for round 2"

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Beta jumped back to avoid Lucy's whip attack.

"I told you that your digging magic won't help you as long as Virgo is here. She is the fastest digger you might have ever seen" Lucy said.

"Indeed" Beta said as he finally took off his helmet and tossed it aside "Looks like I have to switch to my other magic… **Bubble Balls** "

Beta fired bullet shaped bubbles from his hand. Lucy was not quick and so Virgo jumped ahead and took full damage.

"Virgo! You ok?" Lucy checked up her spirit.

"I am fine princess" Virgo tried to assure but Lucy could see some burn marks and scratches on her body.

"You have done well but now you must return" Lucy closed Virgo's gate.

"Now let's see if you have a counter to this magic" Beta said with his usual stoic expression.

"Sure, I have" Lucy said as she took out another key.

" **Open the door of the Scorpion: Scorpio** " Lucy said as Scorpio appeared in front of Lucy.

" **Bubble Splash** " Beta fired another attack as even more bubble began to charge towards Lucy.

"These bubbles contain acid in them. If even one of them got burst, you are having a very nasty burn, pretty lady" Beta said.

" **Sand Buster** " Scorpio fired his attack and all the bubbles got stopped in their tracks and exploded. Some bubbles even returned back and exploded on colliding with Beta and resulting in Beta getting some burns.

"How's that big guy?" Lucy said "Throw me your best shot and I will counter it. My name is Lucy Heartfilia and I am part of the strongest team of Fairy Tail"

"Lucy, can I leave now? I was kinda in the middle of a date with Aquarius and we don't want her angry, do we?" Scorpio smirked.

Lucy immediately imagined Aquarius drowning her in a pool of water for ruining her date.

"Go Go…Leave" Lucy said immediately

With a small salute, Scorpio disappeared.

"Now who should I summon?" Lucy said to herself "Aha, I know"

Lucy took out her another key " **Open Gate of the Bull: Taurus** "

The cow spirit appeared with his axe.

"Ah Lucy, your boo…" Taurus began with hearts in his eyes.

"Don't even complete that sentence" Lucy warned cutting him off.

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" **Fire Dragon's Roar** "

" **Gravity Magic: Wall formation** "

Natsu's attack was stopped by a wall of rocks.

"That was close" Alpha sighed

" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist** " Natsu came breaking the wall and struck Alpha sending him flying.

Alpha growled before standing back.

" _I have already used too much magic supporting the robot and Beta. I can't last long enough"_ thought Alpha

"What happened? Out of magic?" Natsu asked.

"Don't worry. I am not going down that easily" Alpha said

"Great, because I am just getting started" Natsu said.

Alpha wiped blood from his face with the sleeve before answering "As for you, you don't look better either. I suppose you are not a long range fighter naturally"

"Well…you are right about that part. I mostly indulge in fist fights generally" Natsu said while rubbing his neck from behind.

"So you don't have much magic either" Alpha concluded.

"Yeah, I spent most part uselessly against that digger who escaped every time before my attack even reached him" Natsu grumbled.

"How about we finish it with a last shot? Whoever wins will obviously give a number advantage to their team" Alpha suggested.

"I don't think they would want me butting in their fights but I agree with your point about finishing our business in this one last shot because my team is already running short on time" Natsu replied.

"Very Well" Alpha said "Here comes my finishing move"

" **Gravity Magic: Line Formation** "

About 10 rocks stuck to each other like a caterpillar.

" **Gravity Magic: Rock Cannon** "

The caterpillar structure launched like a missile towards Natsu.

"Take this" Natsu shouted as he swiped his arms in a circular fashion " **Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade** "

"Crap" Alpha cursed seeing the size of the flames " **Gravity Magic: Triple Wall Formation** "

Both the attacks resulted in a loud explosion and a huge blast.

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Beta was currently indulged in an axe battle with Taurus. And Beta was not at all happy with the cow spirit overpowering him.

"Mooooooo" Taurus swung his axe and Beta jumped back to avoid getting crushed by the large axe.

Now Beta realized that he had used too much magic while he was attacking the 2 boys. He should have finished them soon enough.

So lost in thought, he didn't saw Lucy wrapping her whip around his axe and pulling it out of his hands.

Taurus immediately struck a surprised Beta with blunt side of his axe and knocked him out.

"Alright~" Lucy cheered and sent Taurus back "I did it"

"IT'S NOT OVER" Beta screamed and dived in the ground to strike Lucy from underground.

"He..he was still conscious" Lucy immediately tried finding Virgo's key but fumbled in nervousness as Beta was approaching faster this time.

But before Beta could reach her, he was kicked above by none other than Virgo.

"Princess, is it punishment time?" Virgo asked.

"Virgo… I didn't summon you. How are you already here?" Lucy asked surprised.

"I can summon myself like Brother Loki. Remember that time when you and Natsu-san fell from the waterfall?" Virgo pointed out.

Lucy remembered the time when Natsu was suffering from motion sickness on the raft and she was fighting Angel. She jumped on the raft but ultimately they fell from the waterfall but when they woke up, Virgo was already there and she had changed their clothes.

"You are right" Lucy said but soon she looked around "Where is that Beta?"

Virgo pointed upward where Beta was a few feet above them and was falling down.

"Let's finish him Virgo" Lucy said.

"Ok Princess" Virgo said.

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Delta was currently having a hard time against Gray. Delta had never fought someone who was that well trained in Caster magic. Gray was fast and his creations were flawlessly strong.

" **Regulus Punch** "

And not to forget this guy with sunglasses and hair like a lion's mane. He was providing a great teamwork to the Ice magic user.

Delta dodged the attack by doing a hand flip and jumping a few feet back.

"Already tired?" Delta taunted though he himself wasn't doing any good.

Delta wasn't wrong either. Gray was running on his last reserves since he used plenty of magic against Beta. Loki too wasn't using much magic since he didn't want to put much pressure on Lucy who was also fighting with another spirit.

"Well, you know 2 on 1 isn't a fair advantage" Delta said.

"You are the one to talk" Loki said "A while ago, you were pouncing over Natsu and Gray with a 3 on 2 advantage to your side"

"They were the ones who were arrogant enough" Delta muttered "They were thinking that they would defeat us with a click of finger"

"All the same" Loki said "Everything is fair in a battle"

Delta sighed "Fair enough…hey, where is that Ice kid?"

"I am here" Delta turned behind to see Gray preparing the spell " **Ice Make: Lance** "

" **Clay Make: Arrows** " Delta immediately countered but he wasn't prepared for what was coming next.

As Delta turned his attention back to Loki, he saw him rushing forward.

" **Lion's Brilliance** " Loki shouted and a smokescreen of light appeared.

"Crap, I can't see anything" Delta rubbed his eyes.

"Now Gray" Loki shouted.

Gray made the pose as he shouted " **Ice Make: Geyser** "

Delta was tossed upward with the structure that emerged under him.

"Finish it Loki" Gray said as he was on knees due to lack of Magic.

"Right away" Loki prepared his finishing move.

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The huge robot was now adorned with lots of cracks and scratches due to Erza.

"Damn" one of the men who were controlling the robot shouted "We are screwed"

"I would have loved to cut this structure piece by piece, but we are running short on time. This final strike will end the fight" Erza said.

"She is damn serious. Everyone out of the robot" One of them said.

"Behold one of my strongest armors" Erza shouted " **Re-equip Magic: Black Wing Armor** "

"She…she is flying" one of the men pointed out as they ran out of the robot.

Erza raised her sword while it began to glow

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" **Lucy Kick** " Lucy shouted as she kicked a falling Beta.

"…and **Virgo Kick** " Virgo too added her own version of kick.

Beta fell down unconscious as Lucy did her victory dance along with Virgo.

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" **Regulus Impact** " Loki punched Delta who went flying and got knocked out.

"You have become stronger" Gray said to Loki.

"Spirits get stronger when their master gets stronger. You should compliment Lucy if you want to" Loki smirked.

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" **Moon Flash** "

The robot was destroyed to pieces as everyone else looked with their jaws dropped.

"She destroyed it"

"With just one strike"

"She's strong"

"And scary"

"Yes…super scary"

Erza turned towards the group of men who began to cower with fear.

"Are you going to surrender yourself or I have to do the honors?" Erza flashed her sword.

"We surrender" All of them shouted with their hands raised and falling on their knees.

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The clash of the attack left a huge smokescreen and Natsu and Alpha were still missing.

"Natsu-san, are you alright?" Mia came running towards a figure that was on his knees. Mia was worried about Natsu since he was the only one who was fighting alone.

"I am alright" Natsu said as Mia tried to support him by putting one of his arms around her slender shoulders.

Slowly the smoke cleared and to their horror, the 3 walls were still standing.

Mia was horrified on seeing this but slowly a grin crept to Natsu's face.

One…

Two…

Three…

All the 3 walls fell at once revealing Alpha with tattered clothes.

Finally, the victory was confirmed when Alpha fell down after uttering 2 last words

"You…won"

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 **This brings an end to fourth chapter of the story. I was planning to extend this fight to one more chapter, but from the few PM which I have got from various readers, they want me to reach the part, where Natsu turns villain, as soon as possible. In their words,** just cut all the rubbish fights and scenes and jump to super strong and cool Natsu. **So I might edit some of my future chapters that I prepared in advance.**

 **I announce once again, I will stop taking OCs after Chapter 7, so if you have any ideas, please send me.**

 **I still have Exams coming, so the next chapter will most likely be out till second week of July.**

 **So I will return soon with a new chapter.**

 **Until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hello guys! I know it's been more than 3 months since I last updated. Actually…my new interest was diverted towards Justice League and Avengers. Sorry to all the readers who had been eagerly expecting the chapter. So as an apology, I wrote an extra long chapter this time. 6k+ should be more than enough as apology, I suppose.**

 **Secondly, since I am doing this story after a while, it might be possible that this chapter might not be as good as previous chapter. If that's the case, please bear with it, though I honestly tried my best.**

 **I have pretty much finalized the OCs for the story. But still, there is a space for some characters. If you have any ideas, please share**

 **Now moving to acknowledgement,**

 **I would like to sincerely thank all the people who followed and favorite me and the story.**

 **And special thanks to:**

 **snakeboy33**

 **Christopher Dragkrow**

 **LoverOfTragedies**

 **and Redpunter**

 **For the awesome reviews. I am really grateful to you guys. Please keep showing your support.**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the fifth chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

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 _ **Chapter 4: Chamonix Village**_

"For the hundredth time, I don't know the whereabouts of our leader or how many dark guilds are going to participate this time or if there are more reinforcements around. Now would someone be kind enough to tell this woman TO NOT POINT HER SWORD AT ME? THAT'S FREAKING DANGEROUS!" Alpha, who was currently tied to a tree, yelled at Erza who was wearing a crooked expression on her face and pointing sword at the leader.

After their defeat, the Brothers of Vengeance were tied and their minions who were controlling the humongous robot were questioned by Erza. Many of them, who were already scared of the Titania, blurted out everything they knew. Still, they knew, or pretended to knew, very less about the alliance. After Erza couldn't get to know anything else from them, she knocked out everyone unconscious in frustration.

"At least we now know all the secret passages to the village" Lucy sighed.

"Yeah, but was it actually necessary to knock them out?" Mia raised an eyebrow.

"Well…just consider it one of the weird traits of Erza" Lucy sweat dropped.

"I wonder how much else I have yet to see about your team" Mia said crossing her arms under her bosom.

The 3 brothers were interrogated by Gray as Natsu went to help the people in the train and assisting the injured people.

Delta was still unconscious and Beta remained dead silent so Gray had only Alpha to interrogate.

"So you are telling me that you are one of the prime forces of your guild yet you don't know anything about it" Gray replied "Are you kidding me?"

"He is right." Beta spoke finally breaking the silence, "Our leader is seen very rarely. Even on the night of rituals he seldom shows up"

"Is that really strange?" Erza asked now lowering her sword "I thought the leaders or bosses are supposed to be like that"

"Not in this case lady" Beta shook his head "At first, we could see him strolling in the village looking at things or keeping an eye on the new recruits but lately, he actually became a shady character himself. Now if I remember it right, it's been 3 months since I last saw him" Beta said.

"This time…it's going to be a massive ritual. The sacrifices will almost be doubled to please Zeref-sama. I even heard that there are going to be more guilds this time." Alpha said.

"Didn't you just tell that you had no idea about the guilds?" Gray raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a rumor" Alpha sighed "I didn't think that rumors do count when it comes to information"

Before Gray or Erza could retort back, they heard Natsu shouting.

"Erza…help has arrived" Natsu was standing along with some guys wearing blue cloaks.

"Gray, keep collecting the information, I would be back in a while" Erza said.

Gray nodded and turned towards Beta for further questioning.

" _Stupid woman"_ Alpha poked a tongue to Erza's retreating figure.

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"…So you are telling us that those 3 mages caused this accident to capture your client" one of the officials asked as the medical team and evacuation team led casualties and other passengers in several vehicles marked with blue logo.

"Yes, that's right. We were attacked and so we were forced to fight these mages" Erza said.

"Hmmm…attacking a public transportation is a serious charge. I will ensure that these mages are punished accordingly. Thanks once again for your help Miss…" The officer brought his hand forward.

"Erza, Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail" Erza shook his hand.

"I am Officer Bureto. You have really good and brave guildmates Miss Scarlet" the officer said.

Erza turned behind to see Natsu and Gray having a snowball fight while Lucy who was trapped in between was trying to call a truce. Mia was standing a few feet away from the war zone and laughing at Lucy's condition.

Unconsciously, a small smile crept up to Erza's face.

"Yes… they are really good and brave"

"Look all you want woman. Maybe it's the last time you will see their smiling faces"

The happy moment shattered at once as Erza turned behind to see a chained Delta being taken into the prison vehicle who had a smug look on his face.

"What did you said?" Erza gritted her teeth.

"You heard me woman" Delta replied as he climbed the vehicle and the prison door was closed.

"That's enough, brother" Alpha said who was also sitting in the same prison.

"You believe that you will enter the Chamonix village and will walk out victorious like it's nothing… you really are naïve woman" Delta chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Natsu who heard the earlier statement with his enhanced hearing came to Erza's aid "Are you actually underestimating our power?"

"You guys may be strong" Beta said who was next to enter the prison "But still you four can't face off against hundreds of dark guild yourself"

"Who says we can't? I could easily blast them off with my roar" Natsu said.

"Get realistic flame breath. He said hundreds of dark guilds. Not even your stupid roar can stop them" Gray said as he smacked Natsu over his head.

"What did you said stripper?" Natsu was about to strike back but stopped when he saw Erza glaring at them.

"If you are looking for reliable statements then ask this officer" Delta pointed towards the guy which was locking the prison gate. The said officer turned his face away as soon as Erza looked at him "Or ask that medical team guy" The said person flinched and turned his face away "Or how about the captain?" the officer who was talking to Erza a while ago also looked down.

"Did you get my point?" Delta said "Every person in this area is or had been a victim of Chamonix incident. Everyone here is aware of the danger as well as strength of those dark guilds. There was a reason why no outside guilds were called even though the ceremony is being performed for more than two years. You should research about your mission before you take them fairies."

"DELTA!" Alpha shouted at his brother "Enough of that, we have a code of honesty and loyalty. We won't give them any information even at the cost of our lives. I thought you knew that"

"Honesty? Loyalty? Do you seriously expect me to follow those rules even though all of us clearly know that the moment they realize we failed and are prone to open to our mouth, there will be a welcome team for us at the prison ready to cut us in half. We are serving an alliance of dark guilds that have no use of lost pawns. I thought you knew that" Delta retorted back.

"So are you telling me that you are actually afraid of dying, my brother?" Alpha raised his voice.

"I would always welcome a proud death from a strong opponent, but it would be a shame to be backstabbed. Do you seriously want to bet your life for someone who doesn't give a damn if we live or die?" Delta gritted his teeth "Because that, my brother, is not an honor. It's cowardice."

Everyone stayed silent after the short argument which was broken by Beta.

"I think Delta is right on this one" Beta said "If they expect loyalty from us, we can't let them be disloyal to us and kill us whenever they wish. It's like we are mere toys for them"

"Listen to me" Natsu came ahead and touched his face with the prison gate "I don't know much about you but Fairy Tail strongly believes in friendship and justice. If you somehow end up getting killed by the people who are supposed to be your allies that would be a shame not only to you people but to everyone who trusts their friends. And as a mage of Fairy Tail, I cannot allow that"

Alpha searched Natsu's face for any signs of faking. But he found none.

" _So he is really serious about protecting friendship and justice. Hmmm… such an interesting boy"_ Alpha turned to see Delta looking with a 'told you so' smirk "So what do you say now brother?"

Just looking and Beta and Delta, Alpha knew he finally lost.

"Whatever you find suitable" Alpha grumbled

Delta grinned in victory.

"So" Erza glared at Delta "What is your point?"

"My point is… for you to subdue those guilds, the first step is to enter the village secretly and let's be honest, you guys don't seem a bit secretive" Delta said.

Erza and Gray sighed clearly aware of the truth. Natsu however had different thoughts.

"Hey, who said we aren't secretive? I could be as silent as a ninja" Natsu wrapped his scarf around his face and did his ninja pose "Nin-Nin"

Everyone from the prisoners and medics to casualties and officers sweat-dropped over Natsu's action

"That's the worst ninja I have ever seen" Mia said.

"Why did I even suggested it that time?" Lucy said remembering her first official mission with Natsu at Duke Everlue's mansion.

"You shouldn't worry about that" Gray said "Thanks to your minions, now we know at least twenty different passages to enter the village"

Delta shook his head "Come on, isn't there someone actually smart in your team?"

"Huh?" Everyone looked surprised since nobody knew where they went wrong.

"It's quite obvious" Mia answered the question "If those minions actually know those passages, then those dark guilds too have knowledge of those paths which means that those passages must be completely guarded. They are out of question."

"Can't we just go through the passage which has the least security at all?" Gray suggested.

"Almost one-fourth of the guild members are indulged in security purpose only. Even if you went through the passage with the least security by luck, one of them will make sure to ring the alarms and call for backup" Delta said.

"Then what should we do?" Erza looked in desperation towards her teammates. They have come far. They can't return without even trying.

Delta smirked.

"You are not thinking of that. Are you?" Beta asked.

Delta's smirk just got wider.

"I can help you people in entering the village" Delta said.

"How? If all passages are known and guarded, how are you going to take us in?" Lucy asked.

"That's right. All the passages are guarded and protected but" Delta raised his index finger "there is one certain passage which might be empty"

"But why would they leave that passage unchecked?" Mia asked.

"Actually, that wasn't supposed to be a passage in the first place. It was actually an emergency exit that was built in case if we were attacked. But as our forces began to grew, the danger of attack too reduced. That passage was long forgotten and one day discovered by Alpha himself by luck" Delta said.

"How can we be sure that you are not lying? It could very well be a trap" Lucy said.

"Well… if you have doubts, I can very much lead you there" Delta offered.

"That's same. You could be leading us straight into the enemy's hands" Mia said "What stops you from betraying us?"

"His brothers" Natsu pointed " If he truly cares for his brothers and he meant whatever he said just now he won't betray us"

Gray nodded in agreement "That's a good point. If we could enter the village smoothly without any interruption, that would mean that we could clearly analyze the situation and come up with a plan"

"Are you sure about that?" one of the officer asked "They are wanted criminals. If we let them go, we don't know if we can get them again"

"No" Bureto said "Saving the village takes the top priority. We can catch these guys again and I am only releasing Delta. If we have any care for his brothers, he will return"

The door was opened and handcuffs were opened as Delta stretched his limbs to get them normal again.

"So what else could you possibly know about the planning?" Erza asked "Hiding spots, weapons…"

"Immunity, protection and a train coach back to Western plateaus for all 3 of us" Delta demanded.

"After the mission is completed and you testify against them at the council" Bureto said "And just in case you decide to change your mind" Bureto locked a special handcuff on Delta's arm.

"What's this?" Delta asked as he looked at the new handcuff which had a glowing light over it.

"It's a special type of handcuff. It will allow us to track your location and will act as a seal against your magic" Bureto said.

"So I can't use magic… huh" Delta sighed "Fine but if anyone caught me because of the handcuff you will regret your decision"

"We will see" Erza said "Now let's go. We don't have time to waste"

Delta nodded. He gave a last look to his brothers/teammates "So…see you guys if…I made it back" Delta gave a small smirk.

"I am not going to be positive about this" Alpha said

"Same here, after all, you are our baby brother" Beta said.

Delta felt a twitch in his eye "And here I was hoping you would tell me some encouraging words or wish me good luck"

"You expect too much" Both of them said in unison.

Delta mumbled something before going to join Team Natsu.

"Mia, are you sure you want to accompany us? You could stay here safe in the protection of these officers" Lucy said trying to convince Mia

Mia shook her head "No, I wish to accompany you. I might be a normal human with no magic but believe me; I can take care of myself"

"Well, I could ask the same question to you Lucy" Gray said "Are you sure you want to come with us even though we have a little chance against them?"

Lucy frowned "I won't deny that I am a little scared, but I am a Fairy Tail mage and a member of Team Natsu. I had seen worst and after all, we have even fought dragons. This can't be even worse. Is it?"

"Did you hear that stripper?" Natsu laughed putting an arm around Lucy's shoulder not noticing a light pink shade on Lucy's face "Lucy won't back off. As long as we are together, no mission is too tough for us"

Natsu's words brought a smile on everyone's faces who were listening to their conversation.

"That's Natsu for ya. Always the optimistic one" Gray sighed though he couldn't prevent a smile on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt your happy moment, but we have to leave" Delta said.

"Coming up" Erza said as Team Natsu and Mia waved goodbye to others.

"You do realize that as slim as it may look, if Delta comes back with a success, he would just get more annoying" Beta said.

"I know" Alpha said "This is why I let him accompany them"

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From a nearby hilltop, 3 guys saw the entire scenario with the help of binoculars.

Two of them were large bulky guys that would put likes of Elfman and Jura to shame. The first guy had small hairs and a large beard while other one had long hairs in a ponytail and was clean shaved with a permanent smile marked on his face. The third guy was more normal size and was observing the scene with a keen observation.

"Grrr…They betrayed us. How dare those losers to support those mages" said the first large guy.

"They need to be punished Tosen" said the second large guy

"Come on Souman" said Tosen "Let's kill them before they even reach the gates of our base"

"Take it easy you two. You might cause an avalanche the way you are screaming" the middle guy said while chewing a small needle "Don't make haste on approaching them"

"And why is that Myron?" shouted Souman "Do you want us to stand like useless and let those Fairy Tail mages enter the village?"

"Too loud" Myron rubbed his ears.

"You are forgetting the objective my friend" Myron said finally spitting the needle "You two have a destructive magic. If as much as a scratch comes to the girl, the master will have our head"

"So what do you suggest?" Tosen crossed his arms "We let them enter our base"

"Absolutely" Myron said "Once they are in the vicinity of the village, we will capture the girl and kill the mages"

Souman and Tosen looked at each other before turning to Myron once again

"You love playing things close to your chest, don't you?" Souman said

Myron smirked "Maybe, strategic moves aren't your field of expertise so just shut up and remember to keep it a secret from master, OK? Or better yet, forget it"

Tosen nodded before turning to the side "What about them?" He pointed towards the series of vehicles that were taking casualties and two prisoners to the nearby city.

"I already took care of them" Myron said as he turned to leave "We are having some fireworks after a while"

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( **After several hours** )

Alpha and Beta were sitting in their prison vehicle discussing about Delta and the Fairies.

"They should be far-away by now. I hope that Delta and others make safely inside the village" Beta said

"You worry too much Beta" Alpha chuckled "Have some trust into our defender"

"I am just worried since the last time he lead a team, it didn't end well" Beta said

"You should have said so on his face" Alpha said.

"You guys are lucky" one of the soldiers sitting with them said "Even before you get any punishment for your crimes, you will be out of jail"

"Repentance is one of the toughest punishments for any human, soldier" Alpha said "And right now we are repenting"

"Ha ha… keep saying that and the officers will…"

Suddenly the said soldier fell to the floor clutching his abdomen.

"Huh, what happened? Hey man, you alright?" Alpha bent down to check the soldier.

"It…hurts…like…hell" the soldier said in a weak voice and panting.

"What just happened now? He was completely fine moments before" Beta said.

Instead of replying, Alpha just got distracted by something.

"Now what happened to you?" Beta asked.

Alpha put a finger on his lips to signal Beta to keep silent. On putting strain to their ears, they could hear a faint beeping sound.

"This sound… where?" Beta asked faintly before realization stuck them both at once.

Immediately they pulled the soldier's uniform to his chest and they saw a red light flickering inside his stomach.

"Sh**" Both of them screamed at once.

Moments later an explosion occurred in the vehicle that shred that vehicle to pieces.

"Check for any sort of life" Officer Bureto shouted _"Don't tell me they already knew and eliminated the possible witnesses"_

"Sir, no one from the prison vehicle survived the blast" one soldier reported.

"Fetch me the Lacrima" Bureto yelled "I need to know where Delta is"

The soldier immediately brought the small lacrima which was tracking Team Natsu's location

"Sir the target is moving" the soldier pointed to a small red dot "That means all of them are safe"

Bureto breathed in relief.

"I figured" Officer Bureto said in a weak voice _"I hope that those mages from Fairy Tail are safe"_

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"Are we there yet?" Lucy whined rubbing her arms due to coldness.

"Just a little more, a few feet away at most" Delta said as everyone was following Natsu who was walking ahead with flame ignited on his hand.

"Ah, I am shivering now" Lucy said to herself as the temperature began getting lower soon after the sunset.

"You should have brought more warm clothes" Gray said.

"We could have reached here before sunset if you hadn't lost your clothes occasionally and told us to wait for you" Mia said taking Lucy's side.

"No fighting in my presence" Erza bonked Gray's head from behind.

"We are here" Delta announced as he pointed to a big rock in front "Now since I am tired I can't use my magic for now. So if someone could please…"

"Don't worry, I will destroy it in one shot" Natsu cracked his knuckles.

"And that's why I didn't asked you" Delta glared at Natsu "We just need to move this rock so that we can move inside the tunnel and put it back so no one finds it"

"I will do it" Erza said as she handed her sword to Gray and went to push the rock with the help of her Giant Armor.

"I will help" Natsu too rolled up his sleeves

"If fire breath is going to do it, so will I" Gray too tossed his shirt behind

"I can also help" Lucy said as she summoned Taurus

"I refuse to stand like some useless person" Mia too came forward to give a hand.

Delta saw the scene unfold in front of him as Team Natsu plus Mia put their efforts to move the rock. He remembered the last time when he and his brothers came to this place; they too put their unified efforts to move the rock.

" _Heh, way to be nostalgic, though they did remind me of us…me, Alpha, Beta… Brothers of Vengeance… the symbol of unity"'_

"Just a little more" Erza gritted her teeth.

"Come on, you can do better than this stripper" Natsu said still smirking.

"Talk about yourself flame breath" Gray retorted.

"Moooo…" Taurus too let out a frustrated cry.

Suddenly a new pair of hands emerged to help which belonged to Delta

"We don't have whole night" Delta shouted and with a last frustrated cry, the rock was finally moved opening up a small dark tunnel.

"Ah, finally" Erza wiped sweat from her forehead.

"I think we should call it a day" Delta said as he entered the tunnel "Let's rest for now. We will continue the journey after sunrise"

"Alright" Erza nodded "We will rest now"

"By the way, how far are we from the village?" Gray asked while stretching his limbs.

"Not too far. It would take hardly 1-2 hour at most" Delta said

"Hmm" Erza and Gray nodded.

Soon they lighted the fire and cooked dinner. Fortunately, Lucy had packed enough considering Natsu's eating habits. After dinner, Natsu, Lucy and Mia were soon asleep. Delta too was feeling asleep but was forced to stay awake since he knew that there are lots of questions to be answered before he could have his sweet dreams.

"So where this passage does open up?" Gray asked

"One old warehouse which will most probably be empty by the time we reach there" Delta said.

"What will be our next move?" Erza asked.

"That is something that I will decide after I check on the surroundings" Delta said "So I will most probably need you all to hide somewhere"

Gray and Erza nodded.

"You seem to have a better idea about this rather than your brothers" Erza remarked.

"That's because I had served as our master's personal force for sometime" Delta said with an air of superiority around him "I know them better than my brothers"

"So… anyone we should look out for?" Gray asked.

"To tell you honestly, most of them aren't a much threat. Other than our master, there are some special mages which you must take care of, rest all are a piece of cake" Delta said.

"I still don't get it. I was expecting that you will support your allies, but instead you chose to help us, why?" Erza asked narrowing her eyebrows.

"It's… a long story, but in short, let's just say, I have a personal grudge against them and I have seen too much killings for a whole lifetime. So I just want all of this to end" Delta shrugged.

"Your master, tell us something about him" Gray said

Delta took a deep breath and released it before beginning "Well, he is the most interesting person I have ever met. When you look at him for the first time, you would see a kind old man, his eyes, his face, his voice, everything about him will make you think that he is the kindest soul in this world. He even dresses up like some high priest of the church. People in the base consider him nothing less than a god. His one statement becomes a law. But the truth is no one could be as evil as him. Those who deny his words are considered traitors and are killed. Honestly, no one could be as treacherous bastard as him. He had passed the verdict that this will be the last holy ritual to be held in the village. No one knows what will happen next. But somehow, it feels like something is wrong"

A small silence which was broken by Gray "Anything else you could tell?"

"Ever been to aquarium?" Delta asked.

"Huh" Gray looked surprised at the change of subject "I mean yes but…"

"Sharks… Have you seen them?" Delta asked looking above "Stood up close to the glass? Those floating, flat faces, those dead eyes, that's what he is. I have dealt with murderers, psychopaths, serial killers but none of them can turn my stomach like that man"

A rather long moment of silence in which Gray and Erza took the information they just got from Delta while Delta kept looking at the ceiling while crossing his arm behind his head.

"So if you are done with your questions, I am going to sleep" Delta said as he lay down on the floor below.

"You never told us his name" Erza said.

"Oh, my bad; His name is Ourin, the white guardian" Delta said as he closed his eyes and fell asleep

"Ourin… never heard of him" Erza said.

"Same here" Gray said.

"Oh and before I forget" Delta opened his eyes once again "He uses **Ink Magic** and has a thing for poetry… Good night Fairies"

Gray sighed as he too lied down and went to sleep soon followed by Erza.

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In a dark room inside the castle, Myron was bending on one knee in front of a person who was sitting on a large throne.

"I see" came an old voice "So the preparation for tomorrow's ceremony is complete"

"Yes master" said Myron looking down.

"And what about your mission? Did you find the girl?" came the old voice once again from the dark.

"No master, but Brothers of Vengeance defected from us and joined hands with the enemies" Myron replied "We managed to kill Alpha and Beta but Delta managed to flee with the enemies"

"I see. Do you think they will try to enter the village?" came the voice again.

"No…I don't think so" Myron replied after a bit "They are small in numbers and already weaken with the fight against Brothers"

"I see…I see" the figure smiled "Now go and have some rest child"

Myron stood up and bowed one last time to the old man before exiting the large room.

"So how did it go?" Souman asked once he saw Myron come out from the room.

"Just like I thought; didn't took much trouble to trick the old fool" Myron said.

"What now?" Tosen asked "Will I get to kill them when they come?"

"Take it easy" Myron said "Let them think they are safe and in advantage. That would be when we go to hunt"

"But how did you managed to kill those losers?" Souman asked.

"Just like how we managed to hear their conversation" Myron said.

"I don't get it" Tosen scratched his head.

Myron sighed "I had my man among that small army. He was the one who was recording the conversation for us and he was the one who planted a miniature bomb inside the soldier who was supposed to guard the two"

"Oh" Both of them said in unison.

"One more thing, if you somehow saw our enemies don't attack them, try to act normal as if you don't know them" Myron said.

"Ok" They said and Myron bid them farewell.

" _That was an awesome plan old man, but you underestimated me. That plan of yours… I will turn it back on you"_ Myron thought to himself.

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"Is that it?" Natsu pointed towards the ceiling.

"Yep, that's it" Delta nodded.

After waking up, Team Natsu had to walk for more than an hour till they reach the end of the passage. By morning, everyone was in weird position. Natsu was sleeping curling to Lucy's leg while the latter was drooling in her dreams. Grey's abdomen had turned into resting place for a large python. Erza was loudly snoring while Mia was curled into a ball due to coldness. When Delta later told them about their different sleeping positions they all had their jaws hanging down.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go" Gray said.

"Wait" Delta said "We can never be sure that the warehouse is still empty. Let me go first and wait for my signal"

Delta carefully opened the manhole shaped lid and peeked around to see any presence. He didn't hear any sound except for leeches and rats.

Delta slowly climbed up and motioned others to come above.

Natsu was the last person to climb and he immediately closed the lid carefully.

"Now all of you stay here" Delta whispered "I will go out and get a hang of whatever is happening around. I will then return and tell my plan to all of you"

"How can we trust you?" Mia said "How can we be sure that you won't bring any forces with you?"

"You don't have any choice dear" Delta said "and if you people try bringing this trust issue one more time, I will seriously consider betraying you"

Delta exited the warehouse stealthily leaving the group behind.

"What do we do now?" Gray asked.

"Like he said, we wait" Erza replied.

-XXX-

Delta came to the main street of the village where he could see several guards and dark mages strolling around the place.

He could hear rumors about the largest ritual ever being held tonight.

"I knew you would come"

A voice sounded from behind Delta making him alert at once. As he turned behind, he sighed in relief.

"Omega, how did you find me?" Delta asked.

Omega was a tad short man who resembled the size of a sphere due to his extreme obesity. He was part of Brothers of Vengeance for a short time, before he left due to his comparatively weak magic power from others though he still kept his code name.

"Simple, there aren't many mages here who love to walk wearing worn out clogs" Omega chuckled.

Delta looked down to see that his clogs indeed had worn out. He seriously needs to stop wearing this old footwear.

"So you have any news?" Delta whispered.

"Lots of… but I have no time. Hopefully, this will help" Omega put a sheet of paper in Delta's hand and proceeded to disappear between the crowds on the street

Delta reached a secluded corner of the street and read the contents of the paper. When he finished, he crumbled the paper, whispered some incoherent words and rushed where Team Natsu was hiding.

"Hey, you ok?" Gray immediately asked "Is everything alright?"

"No it's not" Delta said as he was out of breath since he ran too fast and showed them a wanted poster which had insignia of Fairy Tail "The thing is that they somehow got the info that we lost against you and we are arrested and our enemies i.e., will try to invade us. We are marked as traitors and you are placed on top priorities. What makes it even worse is that you can't go hiding as one of the helpers now. Now the only way for you to enter the ceremony is as dark mages"

"Dark mages" Lucy said surprised "But what if we are caught?"

"Fortunately, you people have advantage here" Delta said "Since the southern part of this continent where you live has very few dark guilds, so it's unlikely that anyone might recognize you. But just for the precaution, change into something else. There are lots of clothes here and get some badass name too… you know… dark mages type"

Everyone nodded and went to work. Lucy changed into full length sweater and pants and tied her hair into a ponytail. Gray found a shirt with a hood that covered most of his upper face. Natsu wore a black jacket which had some spikes on the shoulder portion and tied his scarf on his forehead like a forehead band. Mia too tied her hair in a ponytail and put a small mask on her face which only showed her eyes and wore a purple shirt. Erza just picked up a knight helmet and put it on her head.

"Ok…um…you look different now. That should work" Delta remarked as he picked up a cane and covered himself with a shawl "Now for the fake names"

"Salamander" Natsu said.

"Lyon" Gray smirked under the hood which showed his curved lips.

"Oi, you are using that Lamia's name" Natsu laughed.

"You have a problem" Gray gritted his teeth.

"Are you fighting?" Erza growled.

"No…no ma' m" Natsu and Gray cowered.

Delta cleared his throat to gain the attention once again.

"Titania" Erza said.

"Princess" Lucy smiled.

"Nah, that's not a name any dark mage might use" Delta shook his head.

"Hey, we can always call her Luigi" Natsu said.

"NO" Lucy shouted.

"Good idea" Delta clapped.

"You actually find this name as badass?" Lucy's eyes popped out of their socket but her comment was ignored.

"I will call myself… Maim" Mia said to which Delta laughed.

"Actually that's a name which will actually suit me with the getup I am using. Try something else, there must be something… a nickname or second name" Delta said.

"Copper" Mia suggested to which Delta agreed.

"What about you?" Gray asked.

"Me? I will use my real name" Delta shrugged.

"Eh?" All 5 of them said at once

"What? You actually thought Delta was my real name" Delta asked.

All 5 of them nodded.

"You are really big idiots" Delta growled "Delta is just a code name that determines my rank"

"So what's your real name?" Mia asked.

"Oscar" Delta replied "Alpha is James and Beta is David"

"Now then" Delta said "The names just decided will be your real name as long as you are in this village. Don't try to use the other name. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded.

"Now one final thing, as slim as it may sound someone might recognize you from your guild insignia. So we need something else. An insignia of some dark guild, anyone have any idea?" Delta asked.

"Oracion Seis" Gray suggested.

"No, Balam Alliance was pretty much popular around the dark guild network" Delta said

"Phantom Lord" Lucy suggested.

"No, it has yet to make its debut in the dark guilds" Erza refused.

"Eisenwald" Natsu suggested.

"What's that?" Delta asked.

Natsu and the group grinned "So it's final, Eisenwald it is"

-XXX-

Team Natsu, Delta and Mia slowly walked out of the warehouse to the streets as delta offered to give them a short tour of the village.

"Chamonix is more like a little town which is completely independent from the outside world. Farms, bars, casinos, anything you can think of, we have in this place. The only way you could beat all of them is through commotion. Just give them one hell of a surprise and make sure you take them down in just one strike" Delta summarized.

"We need a proper planning for this De…I mean Oscar" Gray said.

"Right Lyon" Delta said.

Their discussion was diverted when they saw everyone going towards the large field towards the castle.

"Huh, what's going on?" Delta wondered as he asked one of the mages.

"Ourin sama is calling us. He will address us now" the mage said as he rushed towards the fields.

"So he is showing up today after all" Delta said "Let's go"

Team Natsu along with Mia and Delta stood up along with other dark mages to hear to what Ourin had to say.

As soon as the door opened, everyone began to cheer and praise their leader. It wasn't until Ourin himself signaled to silence the mages, the people kept cheering.

"An everlasting darkness has been hovering over us my comrades" Ourin began speaking "But the time for a new dawn has drawn near. Tonight we give our final offering to Zeref-sama and pray him to grant us that holy power which will finally purify this rotten world. Tonight we celebrate the most massive ritual to celebrate Zeref-sama himself"

Loud cheers and excitement took over the crowd as slogans like 'Long Live Ourin-sama' and 'Ourin-sama our protector' broke out'

"You were right about him" Erza said to Delta who was standing nearby "If you hadn't warned about this, I might have fallen for him"

"He thinks killing people is fun" Natsu gritted his teeth "I will teach him a lesson"

"Stop Salamander" Delta caught Natsu's wrist "You will get your chance soon really soon tonight. Save your energy till then"

"Come on everyone we have a lot of preparation to do" Erza said as everyone followed her out of the crowd.

" _Tonight I will do my best"_ Delta said to himself as he turned to have a last look at Ourin.

" _Tonight will be a night not to forget"_ Ourin said as he moved back into his chamber

" _Tonight, it is the end for you old man"_ Myron said to himself as he was standing between the crowd controlling the commotion.

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 **This brings an end to the fifth chapter of the story. The next chapter will have the final battles of this arc and a big controversy will begin. You have to wait to know the details ;). And in case if you are wondering if the next chapter too will take as much time, my answer is NO! Once again sorry for the wait, and hugs to all the fans :D**

 **So I will soon be back with a new chapter.**

 **Until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hello guys! This is NBD. I am back with a new chapter of the story. This is the last chapter before the battle officially begins. So far I just managed to get 2 reviews for the previous chapter. Sort of discouraging but that's all right. Because this…is even longer chapter. (evil laugh). The fight is postponed to the next chapter since this chapter is already pretty long.**

 **Anyways, since I am quite busy between my assignments and Criminal Case, expect a bit slow updates from now on.**

 **Now moving to acknowledgement,**

 **I would like to sincerely thank all the people who followed and favorite me and my story.**

 **And special thanks to:**

 **Trevor607**

 **and LoverOfTragedies for their awesome reviews. Thanks a lot guys.**

 **And biggest thanks to my beta** **DragonKingNatsu** **for the contribution in this chapter.**

 **Now without any further adieu, here is the sixth chapter of the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5: Preparations and Planning**_

"You are crazy"

It's already midday and Delta had told team Natsu to stay hidden in the small warehouse till he returns. Delta was waiting for Omega, but his real name was Jack and he worked as informant for the Brothers of Vengeance. Although he was a bit on the pudgy side and wasn't much of a fighter himself, he was still an important asset. Omega had met up with him in a small restaurant where the talked about Delta's plan.

After hearing the gist of it, he wasn't impressed. "So you're telling me that you are going to battle against the whole cult and all you have are five people and one of them can't even use magic" Omega said repeatedly banging his fist on the table, fortunately he was speaking in a low voice "Please tell me that those four are at least S-class mages," Delta's silence was more than enough to confirm Omega's fears.

"Oh man, you are totally screwed," Omega sighed covering his face with his palms.

Delta rolled his eyes in annoyance. This is one of the things he hates about Omega. The chubby man was the perfect example of over-dramatic and Delta hates drama. If it wasn't for the circumstances, he wouldn't have even endured the man's lecture.

"You know what? It would have been better if James or David would have been here" Omega said, referring to Alpha and Beta respectively, while stuffing his face with food on the table. Delta wasn't sure how the man could talk with so much food in his mouth.

"I already know that. What I want to hear is your answer. Are you in or not?" Delta asked as he kept on stirring his tea.

Omega took a big bite of a grilled chicken leg before he replied, "Someday you will be the end of me and your brothers."

Delta just smiled, taking it as compliment. "Oh you don't need to worry about my idiot brothers. They might be in their prison by now, sleeping on the floor, eating that nasty food… and what not."

"This is the last time I am involving myself in your crazy plans," Omega grumbled.

Delta laughed. "I remember you saying this last time too."

"Are we doing this or not?" Omega sighed.

"Alright, enough jokes." Delta suppressed a snicker. "So as I was saying…"

"Just tell me my part," Omega mumbled with his mouth full. "What do you want me to do?"

Delta looked around before slowly taking out a small bottle from his shawl. The bottle was dark and without a label, but Omega could make out a strange green liquid inside. "Before the sacrifice, everyone will have liquor at evening. I want you to make sure that this potion is mixed in every drink"

"What's this? Poison?" Omega glared at the bottle then turned his eyes to Delta. "You never looked like a murderer to me. But Oscar, let me make clear… if this is what you are planning, I want no part in it."

"Whoa, I have yet to become a mass murderer. This potion will just cause alcoholic effects to them. It's just to make them dizzy" Delta said "So do you think you can manage it?"

That was a relief. "Piece of cake," Omega assured as he took the bottle and slipped it inside his green coat that only covered most of his large stomach. "But just so you know, I will flee this village the first chance I get once the fight breaks out."

"Fair enough" Delta said "By the way, your coat… it's nice"

"Thanks. Stole it from a youngster who was too busy ogling women," Omega laughed.

That was a strange way to get clothes. "No wonder it looks short on you," Delta said.

"Yeah, but it has lots of pockets. I can store everything in here. Isn't it amazing?" Omega inquired.

"Yeah," Delta said, not convinced. Honestly, the coat looked awful on him and didn't cover nearly enough, but he wasn't interested in insulting the pudgy guy.

Omega chuckled, leaning forward onto the table. "I suppose this is most probably our last meeting unless we get caught and your plan fails." Soon, he was joined by Delta. "So it's more like a farewell, huh?"

"If you say so," Delta said, sipping his tea. He didn't really believe that two wouldn't meet up eventually. In fact, he was pretty confident in his plan.

With that, both men turned silent. Nobody had any idea what to say now. Delta was scrolling his mind for something that could break the silence. He didn't wanted to give the impression that he is nervous.

"So…" It was Omega who broke the silence "What now? You, James and David still plan to stick together?

"I don't know" Delta said "I still have to give the testimony in the court. If they found me, Alpha, or Beta guilty, then we would have to go to prison. That said, time isn't on our side, and waiting isn't a good option."

"So after you are out of prison, what do you plan to do?" Omega asked with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, I plan to go back to Western plateaus. My village used to be there before it was destroyed by bandits. I plan to rebuild the village, or if it's already rebuilt I might just settle down there. I had came here in search of power and money, and now I just miss the comfort and peaceful life of my home. I will ask Alpha and Beta to accompany me, but I am sure they have their own plans."

"Wow, I am now wondering what made you like this? Just two days ago, you were all about hunting down the sacrifice and bringing her back to Boss. But now, you're nothing less than a rebel," Omega observed.

"Well, I was secretly looking for people who could bring down this cult and end this for once and all… and I think the four I found would be best for the job" Delta said "Now what about you? Where will you go?"

The large-set man hmmed. "I am no good at fighting, so I guess I'll look for some desk work. There are lots of it… and they can also pay well" Omega said smiling and Delta too laughed.

Once again both of them had no idea what to say to each other.

"I…" Delta began to say

"You know what," Omega interrupted. "As much as I despise your craziness, I've always liked the confidence you have in yourself."

Delta raised an eyebrow "If that was your way to wish me good luck for the battle…well, I appreciate it."

"Now before one of us actually comes to tears, I should take my leave." Omega stood up and brought his hand forward. "To the very best of our times Oscar"

Delta stood up and shook hands with Omega, "Likewise, Jack."

Omega was curious about earlier. "You were about to say something before I interrupted, huh?"

"Oh nothing important… I was just wondering what fee this plan is going to cost me." Delta said.

Omega grinned lightly before stuffing all the uneaten food in his large packets and standing to leave. "Pay the bill," Omega said as he exited the small canteen.

Delta snickered before waving the waiter over for the bill. He was sure that Omega would escape at the very first chance he got, and there wasn't much chance of him getting caught in the crossfire. The man may be a poor fighter, but he was smart. He had to give Omega credit for that.

"Oh, and by the way" Omega once again. Delta was sure he'd have left already. "In case you fail tonight, I will give your name to my pet to remember you by."

Delta immediately spit the tea from his mouth and turned towards Omega who winked at him and finally left the canteen.

"Now I have one more reason why I can't fail," Delta told himself as the waiter arrived with the bill and began clearing all Omega's dirt plates off the table.

* * *

After finally waiting for what seemed like a long time, Erza was impatiently pacing around the room as they waited for Delta to return. She was restless, thinking of worst-case scenarios and possible dangers.

"Do you think he fled, leaving us alone?" Mia asked who was sitting on the floor.

"I don't think so," Lucy said. "He told us he will return with some really good plan."

"And you believe him?" Mia asked.

"You mean that you don't?" Lucy asked in a little surprised tone.

She sighed. "I do believe him. But you know… we all have our doubts."

"Just make sure you don't say that when he is around," Lucy sighed. "He did warn us about our trust issues." Mia nodded in agreement. They didn't want to offend the guy too badly.

"How long does it take to come up with good plan?" Gray said looking at Erza who was still couldn't calm down. She couldn't have been that nervous, not as a skilled S-class mage. Still, Erza kept silent and increased her pace, thinking.

"Why are you pacing so much Erza-san?" Mia asked, turning towards Erza.

"It helps me to think. And call me Titania," Erza insisted. "It's important to call each other by the fake names, Copper."

Mia nodded. Natsu was sleeping in a corner, drooling in his sleep. Typical Natsu, he was probably dreaming about food. They did wonder how he could sleep at a time like this, but they were all a little tired.

"So how long should we wait?" Gray looked around anxiously. "If he doesn't come back soon, we will do things our own way"

"Really?" Lucy said in a sarcastic tone. "You are going to do something even though you don't have a slightest idea about this village or the dark guilds here?"

Gray tried to argue but immediately closed his mouth as he couldn't think of a proper reply.

Just then the door opened and Delta walked in, immediately throwing his shawl in the corner.

"Sorry guys I am late. The guy I was supposed to meet actually delayed me to the point that I was about to…" Delta paused as he saw everyone gawking at him especially Gray and Mia.

"Did I miss something?" Delta asked.

"No…nothing important Oscar" Lucy replied.

Delta just shrugged at the weird vibe he was getting from everyone and sat down on the floor. Even Natsu was awake by now due to Gray poking him in the face and yawned before noticing that Delta is back. The dragon slayer didn't start bickering, instead looking towards Delta.

"So Oscar, what's the plan?" Erza asked "I think you told us you will have everything sorted out till you return"

"Well I have a good as well as bad news. What should I begin with?" Delta asked.

"Good news" Lucy said "I seriously want to hear something positive that concerns this mission. Our chances don't seem too great right now."

"Alright, then," Erza said, "so good news it is."

"I managed to find a way to slip you guys into the castle ground where the ritual is going to take place," Delta said.

Immediately a smile spread on every face in the room.

"Ha, that's half the job done" Natsu grinned.

"So what's the bad news?" Gray said narrowing his eyebrows.

There was a moment of silence as all eyes turned towards Delta. "Someone needs to be bait." He said looking away.

All he got in return were confused stares and questioning looks.

Upon seeing that, he elaborated. "I have thoroughly planned this and came to the conclusion that the best time to attack them will be during the ritual itself. But we have a problem there," Delta paused to look at others.

Everyone was listening with utmost attention. Even Natsu too, who was well known for zoning out whenever strategic discussion is involved. Team Natsu could hardly remember any mission where they had such slim chances.

"The problem is that when we will be busy battling the enemies, the prisoners and sacrifices will also be there. They might threaten them in order to stop us and once we surrender, it's all over," Delta said "So, if we free the hostages fist, we will be able to gain the upper hand."

Everyone thought about this, mostly accepting that it was a good plan. Lucy formed an 'O' in understanding, but Natsu wasn't so calm about it.

"Those bastards." Natsu gritted his teeth angrily. "How can they fall so low as to take hostages?"

"Well, it's a multitude of dark guilds we are facing," Delta said. They have killed hundreds of females, even more males, and have exterminated guilds who tried crossing them, sometimes even going as far as to kill the guild masters when they want to instill the fear among the inhabitant." He was counting the crimes on his fingers. "They have sold lots of children to slave traders, mentally tortured the rebels, and the list keeps going on… It's my personal view but I think taking hostages is far more subtle than any of the aforementioned things."

"Don't worry, we won't let any innocent die tonight," Erza assured, determined.

"So, we need someone who is ready to go to prison for today and free them from inside when the right time comes," Delta said and looked at everyone. "Saving the prisoners is a vital part to winning."

"I will go," Erza offered immediately, determination in her eyes.

"But Erza…" Gray tried to intervene.

"No, I am going and I want no arguments," Erza interrupted sternly. "This job requires stealth and proper planning and I am the one most suited for it." Erza could remember the Tower of Heaven where she was chained, beaten, tortured, and even had one of her eyes taken out. She remembered the day they fought with the guards and were finally able to have their freedom. She lost too many friends that day. Even Jellal had become evil while Sho, Milliana, Wally and Simon turned their backs on her. She didn't want to see any others put in such a vulnerable position.

Everyone nodded though no one was happy about this.

"You do know this is really dangerous, right?" Mia said.

"Don't worry about Erza. She's strong," Natsu said though missing his usual grin.

"Then why do you look worried?" Gray asked quick to notice his rival's change of attitude.

The fire mage couldn't place a finger on it, but something seemed wrong to him. "I just don't like this idea. Maybe there could be some other way." Natsu looked at Delta.

"Nothing comes in my mind for now," Delta shrugged.

"That's alright Natsu. I will never let any innocent come in harm's way," Erza reassured.

"I would have said some words of encouragement to you guys but I am afraid we don't have much time," Delta muttered.

"I know" Erza sighed, wishing that wasn't the case. They weren't prepared enough, and the plan wasn't foolproof. "I presume I have to get myself caught?"

"Not at all, you will have company," Delta replied confusing everyone but still they decided to remain silent.

"Now you four listen carefully," Delta said in a low voice. "After we all depart from here, wait for a while. Then, when the coast is clear, head to the small liquor store and on the other side of the castle and meet up with the store owner there. He's one of the guys responsible for recruiting more cult members. It's through this man that you will gain entrance to the ritual. If you improvise a story on how you were thrown out of your guild, he might recognize you as mages who can join the cult."

"Finally," Natsu grinned. "It's time for some action!"

"We are not going there for a fight, ash-for-brains," Gray shot back glaring at his rival.

"Are you looking for a beating ice princess?" Natsu said rolling up his sleeves.

"Bring it on, pinky" Gray said as both of them clashed their forehead.

Surprisingly, it was Delta who interfered. "Sorry boys but you can't make mess of the only hideout we have," Delta said pulling both of them apart. That, and it probably wasn't a good idea to have them wasting their energy before the big fight.

"Now I will meet you all at the ritual itself. Don't worry about me, I will find you. Just make sure you stay close to each other. And Copper," he addedm turning towards Mia, "if you can, try not to wander to wrong places. You know what I mean, hmm?"

Mia sighed, fully understanding that wrong place refers to her home and the surroundings.

"Okay people, see you at ritual." Delta said giving them a half hug and whispered something in Lucy's ear which caused her to smile a bit before he left with Erza.

Mia noticed Lucy's amusement. "What did he say?"

Lucy replied in a similar tone. "He said to make sure the two morons don't mess up the plan."

* * *

Officer Bureto and his team were sitting at the explosion scene and observing while the other team was busy analyzing how the explosion occurred. It had been hours since the incident and the other vehicles were reported to reach their destination safely.

"So do you have any suggestions now?" Bureto impatiently tapped his fingers at the ground.

"Eh… we can just say that both of them caused the explosion and fled" one of his minions suggested.

"Wow, and then I will be ordered to find them and arrest them. I'll keep looking for two dead men till my face gets wrinkles and they force me to quit the case. I'd become a laughing stock for my superiors and fellow officers." Bureto gritted his teeth, and the soldier who just suggested it immediately turned silent.

"Or we can tell that there is a rebel in our team and we will find him and kick his ass," another constable suggested.

"And when they find out that there was none, it will be my ass they are going to rub their boot on!" Bureto shouted and everyone turned silent after that.

"Seriously Bureto, you should just wait for tonight. I am sure good news will come sooner or later," one of his fellow officers said.

Bureto was sweating now as he imagined his superiors yelling at him and giving him a demotion. "What if it doesn't?"

His friend sighed. "Stop thinking all negative thoughts."

"I can't…I simply… can't," Bureto said looking at the team who was still busy collecting samples from the destroyed vehicle.

* * *

Delta and Erza reached a small pub which was already crowded.

"So what's the plan?" Erza asked from under her knight helmet.

Delta scanned the area. "I will tell you once the preparations are completed," Delta said.

"Well, what's with new look?" Erza pointed at Delta who was now wearing large sunglasses and half sleeve shirt and shorts. Having seen him in his other outfit all the time, this new one was strange.

"The old one attracted too much attention, and I was almost caught," Delta said with a huff. On their way to the pub, Delta just disappeared into an alleyway and came out with the completely new look. He was in a hurry so Erza presumed that these are stolen.

Erza nodded, though he didn't approve of him stealing. She knew function was more important than fashion, though one wouldn't think that from her reequip armors. It was important that they remained incognito.

"Well these attract even more attention if you ask me," Erza said but her comment was ignored by the Delta.

Suddenly, Delta spotted the man he was looking for.

"Hey, Titania." Delta tapped her shoulder. "See that man?" Delta pointed towards a man who had a large mustache and was smoking a big cigar. He had a long blue ponytail and was laughing occasionally at jokes his friends were cracking.

"Yeah" Erza said

"Go punch him," Delta commanded.

Erza turned towards him immediately giving him her 'are-you-crazy-look' though Delta didn't see it due to her mask.

"Come on, go and do it and be prepared to eat a punch too." Delta snickered and tossed a small piece of cloth to her and motioned for her to put it on. It was a sleeveless red jacket.

"Are you sure?" Erza asked "I am punching a complete stranger and for no reason.".

"Don't worry. It's all part of a plan," Delta said as he smoothly picked up a drink from the counter while the one who ordered it was busy talking to his buddies. "You don't need to injure him, just make him mad."

Erza put the jacket and walked to the target and took a deep breath. "Excuse me."

"Yes?" the man turned towards her, curious. Immediately, Erza's fist connected with the side of his mouth.

The man stumbled from his chair and immediately stood up and with a seethed expression "You bitch" and kicked her on abdomen. Before she could fell down, two strong arms stopped her and Erza turned around to see some people who were wearing similar jackets standing behind her.

"You scoundrel, how dare you touch our comrade?" the man who helped Erza growled as he went ahead and landed another punch on the ponytail man. The man soon recovered as his comrades appeared behind him.

The ponytail man wiped blood from his mouth and shouted, "Crush these scum!"

Soon an all out brawl broke out as chairs, tables, bottles, and men were being thrown at each other. As the one to stop these fights, Erza was out of her element here. She quickly slipped away and slumped in the corner. Delta soon joined her with a wide grin on his face.

"Good job," Delta patted Erza's back.

"Now care to explain what that was all about?" Erza asked.

"The guys with the red jacket, they are a small gang who supports Ourin's motives. The guy you punched was a member of their rival gang. They just need any nonsense and they are at each other's neck." Delta said while dodging all the objects flying at him.

"That reminds me of my guild," Erza reminisced.

"Hmm… well it's strange thinking that patting you in the back reminded you of your guild." Delta scratched his head in confusion.

"No, I was talking about the brawl," she clarified.

"Oh! Your guild must be very rowdy then" Delta said, dodging a bottle which came out of nowhere.

Erza didn't even seem fazed by all the flying objects. "Yes, they certainly are energetic." Erza then turned towards Delta "Now tell me what was that for?"

"Ourin's army will soon be here" Delta said "You along with everyone will be thrown into the prison for causing ruckus."

"Well that was cleverly thought," Erza praised, suppressing a giggle. She never imagined she'd be going to jail for starting a fight.

"Thank you. I take pride in my job" Delta sighed before preparing to leave "I need to go since I have some more strings to pull and the army will be here any minute. Now listen, don't do anything to cause trouble though if any of those fools try something on you, you are more than welcome to break some bones. At the right moment, my man will come and free you…"

"…and I will take care of sacrifices and prisoners" Erza completed the sentence.

"Bingo." Delta was about to jump out of the window but stopped at last moment "And one final thing, don't eat dinner tonight."

"Huh?" Before Erza could even ask Delta jumped out of the window just as the army entered inside and arrested everyone present.

What was so important about dinner?

* * *

"We're here," Mia said as Natsu, Lucy and Gray looked upwards and saw lights flickering. Even in the broad daylight the sign for the liquor store shone brightly with vibrant colors.

"Let's go. And remember the code names," Gray reminded as they entered the shop.

Bells slowly jingled as the visitors entered the store. The owner who was taking a nap on his desk raised his cap to see them looking around.

He stood up obviously annoyed with his nap being disturbed yet he put a smile on his face "Welcome to my store. Can I help you with anything?"

Gray cleared his throat before speaking "Actually we are…"

He was interrupted as Natsu stepped forcefully in front of his comrade. "Wait a sec. let me talk" Everyone was surprised when Natsu opened his mouth. "I'll take a supersize fish burger meal and fire whiskey," Natsu said with a grin as Gray, Mia and Lucy felt their jaws hitting the floor.

"Coming right up," the store owner replied as he went inside to fetch the order.

"Don't eat something so fattening!" Gray yelled. The girls were baffled yet again.

Lucy gaped. "Since when did Gray began worrying about diets and foods!?"

Soon all 4 of them were sitting on a table with Natsu devouring his order with a starry expression in his eyes and Lucy trying to convince Gray that it's for the good of the mission. Natsu needed his energy, but did he really need to stop in the middle of their mission to have a large meal? Soon they found the store owner back on his seat preparing for another nap.

Gray walked up to him and cleared his throat to gain his attention as the store owner looked at him with a questioning look. "My name is Lyon," Gray pointed to himself. "Due to certain circumstances, I have been thrown out of my guild. I was hoping I could enter the village to join your, uh, cult…"

Before Gray could even complete his sentence, a knife was thrown at him at insane speed. Thanks to the reflexes he got from fighting the likes of Erza and Natsu for years along with several other strong opponents, he managed to dodge it just in time. Even Natsu had to immediately duck to avoid the knife from impaling his forehead. Lucy and Mia were frozen at their places. The knife struck at the little space between them, quivering a bit before coming to a standstill. Lucy didn't register that she had nearly been impaled until a few seconds later, when she screamed.

"What was that for!?" Gray turned to the owner.

The man just smirked before… "Bravo!" the store owner's eyes sparkled like a fan-boy as he clapped approvingly. "You totally aced the test"

Natsu and Gray sweat-dropped immediately "Eh?" Lucy breathed a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding.

"Ah, sorry about that. It's a test I give to all people who want to enter the cult to see if they've got what it takes! Lately there are so many annoying wannabe vigilantes trying to get in. Get's on my nerves."

Instantly he reached the table where the females were sitting, putting his arm around both of them. "Don't worry, ladies get a free pass."

Lucy and Mia both sweat-dropped, though neither appreciated his rather suggestive tone.

"So what guild do you belong to?" The store owner asked as he pulled out his knife from the table.

"Eisenwald," Natsu told him, following the plan.

"That's funny." The store owner narrowed his eyes as he turned away. "Because I remember that guild was disbanded years ago when some stupid guild known as Fairy Tail defeated their guild master."

Everyone was shocked and nervously looked at each other, no one knowing exactly how to reply. No one had expected this man to know of that incident from long ago. Fortunately, the store owner didn't pick up on their surprise. The man was suspicious, however, for good reason.

"No…we now actually…are underground" Lucy replied slowly, and elbowing Gray whose hands were fluttering around his pants.

"Building up your power? That's good strategy," the store owner said, nodding in approval.

"Yes," Gray agreed, giving a silent thanks to Lucy and relieved, as Natsu finally was finished with his meal.

"So you guys got names?" the store owner asked.

"Salamander," Natsu replied easily with a burp.

"I already told you I'm Lyon," Gray said.

"Copper," Mia said in a timid voice.

"Luigi," Lucy finished, glaring at Natsu.

After the introductions, the owner smiled. "Now, you must have heard about the ritual tonight. So you guys are most welcome to come and take part in it if you wish." He gave them a short bow. "Please come"

All four of them sighed in relief. They managed to conceal themselves in front of the store owner. Lucy, most of all, was impressed at the fact that the two idiots didn't give themselves up.

Just when they were leaving, Lucy remembered something. "Hey, you never told us your name," she pointed out. "What should we call you?"

The store owner gave a small smile which looked like a smirk to Lucy. "Myron" the store owner said.

Lucy nodded and ran to catch up with her friends. As the four of them disappeared from the sight, Myron smirked before going to his desk and pulling out some papers from the drawer. He knocked them against the desk to align them and smiled as he began reading. "Natsu Dragneel: pressure point is motion sickness and short temper. Ranked A+"

He flipped the page. "Gray Fullbuster: pressure point is stripping and former mentor Ur. Ranked A"

Next page. "Lucy Heartfilia: pressure point is scary opponents and her celestial spirits. Ranked B…" Myron licked his lips. "She looks tasty."

Next page "Erza Scarlet: pressure point is her crush Jellal and strawberry cake. Ranked S."

The smirk spread further across his face as he jumped a few pages. "Mia of Chamonix: pressure point is friends and family. Ranked C. Priority Important… uh huh, so the missing girl is here too."

Still, he continued flipping the pages, coming to rest at one final entry. "And finally Delta a.k.a. Oscar: pressure point is morphine. Ranked S."

Myron laughed as he put rest of the papers back in the drawer.

"Not so smart huh fairies?" Myron said as he felt a presence behind him.

He groaned. "What?" He questioned, annoyed at the man standing by the door. Myron knew the person was one of the Ourin's messengers controlled by the boss through his magic. The person was basically a mindless puppet.

"Ourin-sama called for you," the man said and went away.

"The old sack of bones needs me again," Myron said as he stood up and took a final glance at the paper. "He doesn't need to know. It will be good to have some unlikely allies."

Myron went to the kitchen. "I am going to the castle. Send someone to manage the counter."

The chef nodded. As a last thought, he tapped the chef's shoulder to gain his attention. "I am feeling happy today for some reason. So as a result, I want to treat prisoners to some dessert after the dinner."

"Dessert! You were never fond of sweet things." The chef scratched his head. "Anyway, what are you treating them to?"

Myron handed a piece of paper as he exited the kitchen. The chef felt his eyes widening at the order. Was this guy serious!?

"I can't make all of this on such a short notice!" The chef shouted as he followed Myron to the gate.

"Then order it, take as much help as you want but make sure it's of top quality." Myron exited as he went out of the store, throwing the papers into the small bonfire burning in the corner.

"Uh… my employer is crazy," the chef complained as he went back inside the kitchen.

* * *

Erza already had her first experience in prison after she and Natsu spent a whole night in prison after the lullaby incident. Between that and her often reasonable demeanor it was no wonder that Erza was sitting calmly while most of the prisoners were sticking their faces through the bars and yelling profanities to the inmates of other cells. The ones in her cell were just as bad, getting riled up at the opposite cell. She couldn't punish them, nor did she have the right to, so she sat there the entire time watching the drama.

She yawned under her helmet, bored at the petty fight between the two groups. Just as she was about to take a nap she heard some snippets of an ongoing discussion between two prisoners.

"No way! Boss could never do something like that" one man said.

"Hey punk, I was the appointed night guard for the castle. I have sharp eyes and ears. There is no way I could ever be mistaken," the man who Erza supposed was the leader said. He was rather arrogant and was also the one who led the men in the brawl earlier.

Erza was thankful that her helmet allowed her to fake her sleep while she was listening to the conversation.

"Honestly, boss is really acting strangely for some time. Without using the gates or telling his guards, he sometimes just disappears from the castle. He keeps contacting someone from outside. I can feel their presence. But I don't know what their goal is," the leader said.

"I don't believe you." The younger man crossed his arms defiantly. "Ourin-sama is the kindest person in the world. He will call Zeref-sama tonight and we will all be free. He will bring true peace." The younger man kept going on with the dreamy, entranced look in his eyes.

The leader grunted and closed his ears. He looked at Erza who seemed to be asleep. She went as far as to fake a couple snores, though they weren't that convincing.

He shrugged. "The troublemaker is already asleep and I am wide awake listening to their nonsense." Eventually, with nothing better to do, the leader laid down on the floor and slept.

"I have a really bad feeling about this," Erza muttered to herself.

* * *

Natsu, Lucy, Gray and Mia returned to their small hideout after they had talk with the store owner, all of them feeling proud of themselves. Lucy's shock at their ability to pull it off had finally dissipated.

"Okay now we have some time till it gets dark, so what should we do?" Mia asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Natsu said as he stretched his arms. "We get some rest!"

"Suit yourself flame brain," Gray said as Natsu occupied his area on the floor and sighed happily in content.

Lucy also began to lie down. "Okay, I'm a little sleepy too. Today was crazy." Then again, it was Fairy Tail.

Well, they may all have been tired, but Gray was still wide awake. "I am going out. Do you want something to eat?" He asked Mia.

"Anything will work for me," Mia replied.

Gray nodded and left.

Mia just began tapping the floor waiting for Gray to return.

Unknowingly her mind wandered to the day when the village was attacked and conquered. She had seen many sacrifices including her mother and sister. She remembered her father and brother being beheaded by the leader, Ourin. The sight the spray of blood and their emotionless faces resting at her fight was still fresh in her mind. She then remembered her brother sneaking her out as soon as it was confirmed that Mia was among the list of next sacrifices. All the way to Magnolia, she was plagued by just the thought of her brothers being found out and executed. Even now, she had no idea where her brothers could be. She was still trying to be positive that her brothers were safe. But what if…

Unconsciously, a few tears escaped from her eyes and she began sobbing. She was sure Gray would take his time in returning. So she let herself cry, even if it was for a short time.

"Hey, you okay?" Mia raised her teary face to see Natsu looking at her with concern. Her sobs were loud enough for Natsu to hear and wake up.

"I…I thought you were sleeping," Mia sniffed.

That wasn't important to Natsu now. "Why are you crying?" His voice full of comfort and he began to soothingly rub her back, something he learned from Lucy on various occasions he found her crying.

Mia threw her hand around Natsu for a hug and began to sniff over his chest.

"I… I'm scared," Mia said between her sobs. "What if we fail? What if they kill my family? I can't help but… have all those negative feelings inside my head."

Natsu waited her to finish. He then remembered something he did with Future Lucy when they were in a similar situation. He brought his head forward and lightly touched his forehead against hers.

"Don't worry. I will protect you."

Mia felt her eyes widening for a second. As she looked upward, she saw those calm and reassuring onyx eyes of Natsu. Just one simple sentence, the way he said it, was enough for her. She felt as if the dark thoughts were being driven away by brilliant fire. And the ear splitting grin that followed shortly afterwards compelled her to do one thing… believe him.

"Yeah, you are right," Mia said wiping her tears and smiling. "Sorry for being so depressing. I should have more confidence in myself and my friends."

"Yup, Fairy Tail wizards look out for their friends, no matter what. Are you sure you don't need more comforting?" Natsu asked.

Mia shook her head, slightly amused by how straightforward he was. "I am okay now."

"Good" Natsu beamed "Now I am going to sleep once again. You should also take a nap for sometime"

"Ok" Mia smiled as Natsu once again went back to sleep immediately.

Mia prepared to lie down but before that she slowly crawled towards Lucy, who was also awake but facing other way, and whispered in her ear, "I see now why you're so fond of Natsu."

Mia then went to sleep, giggling to herself as she saw red color appearing on Lucy's cheeks.

* * *

"Ourin-sama, what is the meaning of this? Why should we leave this place tonight?" A dark mage was shouting inside the castle garden where Ourin was sitting. The leader had a brush dipped in black ink and was busy writing something on paper. "We can always stay here and use this village's resources for our benefit. Nobody can dream of intruding us here in this secluded village. And yet why…"

"Silence comrade!" Ourin commanded, still writing and not even glancing at the visitor. "It is absolutely necessary. That aside, just who let you in here in the first place?"

"I was wrong up till now," the dark mage continued, ignoring the question. "I wanted to be a strong and chivalrous dark mage, that's why I got into this place, but what we have been doing here is just like what a bunch of low life thugs would do, always preaching that Lord Zeref will bestow his power on us and just sacrificing the villagers who could be used in slave trading. Even so, no one has doubts about the situation. Isn't it strange? Please answer me boss!" The mage's voice turned pleading by the end of his speech.

Ourin stopped whatever he was doing but he still didn't turned towards the mage

"You participated in this morning's meeting, right?" Ourin asked in his usual kind voice

"Eh? Y-yes, I was there when you mentioned the new dawn" The mage said in a tired voce.

"Mmm, is that right?" Ourin toyed with the brush in his hand. "Then you may leave."

"B…but," the mage tried to refuse before he was interrupted.

"Can't you understand from just looking?" Ourin said dipping his brush in ink. His voice was dangerously calm. "Right now, I am in the middle of writing a poem. So…" The mage shivered as his superior's voice grew more and more terrifying.

"Won't you stop interrupting me?" Ourin faced the mage sporting his most threatening glare.

The mage was frozen in his place due to the oppressive, intense magic Ourin was leaking. "Gah, my body can't…" the mage was heavily sweating now.

"Mmm, alright, I understand… such a good kid" Ourin said as he brought his brush close to his face "Now then…"

The mage watched in horror as a drop of ink fell from brush on Ourin's tongue and immediately turned into a small ball of ink with the shape of flames.

"Please leave," Ourin said as the small ink ball turned into a long string which began to flow towards the mage and entered his brain through his ear. Soon the mage's eyes turned white and lifeless like a zombie. He immediately turned around and exited the garden without protest.

"I apologize for the intrusion."

"Of course" Ourin turned towards his poem once again.

Myron who was coming to meet Ourin looked as an unknown mage passed through the gardens. One look at his face, and Myron understood that this is Ourin's work. Another mindless puppet. He entered the garden and stopped a few steps before Ourin and bowed on one knee. "You called for me Master?" Myron prompted, immediately hating the word as soon as it slipped from his mouth.

"Ah, Myron… you are finally here. I was waiting for you." Ourin said still busy with the poem.

"I apologize for the wait," Myron apologized.

Thankfully for the both of them, Myron was far more compliant than the last one who talked with him. "Mmm… for the topic at hand, I have an important task for you," Ourin said.

Myron nodded.

Ourin continued. "I think you understand that only yesterday the brothers of Vengeance were caught along with the enemies."

Myron nodded once again, thinking. "So he still doesn't know about the fairies." That was good, there was still the element of surprise.

"So I want you to guard the castle tonight along with Souman and Tosen at the time of ritual."

Myron was shocked. If he guarded the castle tonight then who will make sure the plan runs successfully? It rested on his shoulders. "No that can't be… I couldn't let the plan get ruined after coming this close to the success."

"What happened child? You look troubled," Ourin observed, though he was still glued to his poem-writing.

Myron smiled uneasily. "Not at all. I am completely fine with this."

"That's good," Ourin replied in his normal tone and signaled him to leave.

With a swift bow, Myron left the garden, with a frown on his face.

"Now there is only one way, I have to leave everything to my unofficial allies," Myron conceded as he immediately brought his knife and took out a small piece of paper and swiftly wrote everything he needed to say. He stuck the note to the knife and tossed it into the air. It immediately went flying southwards at supersonic speed.

"There it goes… to Fairy Tail."

* * *

Delta exited the small bar he had been sitting in for more than an hour. He discussed with some people (and not to mention, payed for their heavy meals) he deemed would be necessary for the mission tonight.

"I am so going to charge those fairies for this," Delta looked in his wallet which had only a few jewels left. Thankfully, if everything went according to plan, it would be worth it.

Delta looked towards the grand castle where the preparations for the ritual were in their final stages.

"Tonight… it all ends for you," Delta said in a heavy tone as his hands clenched into fists.

* * *

"This is the world's dawn. Long live Ourin-sama!"

Ourin could hear his followers chanting outside the castle as they prepared excitedly for the ritual. "That's right… the time for a new dawn has drawn near. You all have sold yourselves to someone who never existed. Now it's time for me to ascend to the throne."

The future king laughed maniacally.

* * *

 **This brings an end to the sixth chapter of this story. I hope you liked it.**

 **The next chapter is in progress. I will upload it as soon as me and my beta are finished with it.**

 **So until then, it's a goodbye from NBD. See ya!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW!**


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